


Naruto: The Final Hokage of Peace

by Kris James (exinsh)



Category: Naruto
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-04-22
Updated: 2014-04-28
Packaged: 2018-01-20 09:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 27,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1506278
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/exinsh/pseuds/Kris%20James
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What if Kyuubi was not as evil as everyone says? What if Itachi Uchiha said completely different words to Sasuke when he killed the Uchiha clan? What if Sakura wasn't as useless as she usually is? What if Naruto awakens bloodline, which will change his life? Strong Naruto with different Rinnegan. Strong Team 7. Read the story as Naruto becomes the Hokage and leads the world to peace.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Origins

 

_**8 years after the attack of the Kyuubi** _

It was a bright and sunny Sunday afternoon in Konohagakure. It was quite hot this time of day as well, but that wasn't such a surprise considering that Konoha is in Hi no Kuni. The birds were chirping and a warm breeze could be felt. The villagers were busy going about their business. Standing atop Hokage tower was Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was the current Hokage. He was looking at his village when a sad smile crept on his face.

" _Minato, thank you for saving our village… if only I could've helped to prevent such a sacrifice. If only people would've_ honored _your last wish."_  He thought.

He didn't have much time to think about the past when he heard someone's steps behind him. When he turned around, he saw his secretary, Yumi. She was an attractive woman in her mid twenties. She had shoulder length brown hair which she kept in a ponytail and she also had narrow dark purple eyes. She wore a white, sleeveless blouse, navy skirt which went to her knees, and pair of simple civilian boots.

"Hokage-sama, Iruka-san requests an audience with you." she said.

Hiruzen looked at the village for one last time and sighed "Send him to my office and tell him I will be there in 5 minutes."

"Very well, Hokage-sama." she replied respectfully, bowed, and left.

" _I wonder what he wants. It's very rare that he comes to see me."_ The old hokage thought and after a minute, left.

* * *

**-Hokage's office-**

"Hello Iruka," welcomed the old Hokage "So, tell me, why did you want to see me?"

"Well, umm... I wanted you to sign this." Iruka stuttered, then gave the Hokage a sheet of paper. When the Hokage read through everything, he raised an eyebrow.

"Field trip, huh? Why so sudden?" the old Hokage asked. To be honest, he was quite surprised because he didn't expect the first year academy students to go outside of the village. Usually this kind of field trip only happened in the third or fourth year. 

"I decided to do it this year because my class is quite promising. We will be alright: Mizuki will help me watch the kids. And it's not like it will happen tomorrow; I planned to do it after 3 weeks so I can prepare them." Iruka replied calmly. He really believed that his students were the most promising and gifted students in all academy history after the Yondaime.

The old Hokage thought about it for a while. "Very well then, I'll sign this form and allow you to take kids on a field trip. In 3 days time I'll inform the guards about this."

Iruka smiled and thanked the old man "Thank you. I shall go now and inform the kids." Iruka bowed and walked slowly towards the doors.

Before Iruka could exit the office, the Hokage asked, "Tell me, Iruka, how is Naruto?"

"Naruto? Well, Naruto is being Naruto – doing pranks, being a loud-mouth and missing classes. His grades are not high as well." Iruka stopped for a second and thought about something. "But I feel that he is hiding something, like he is acting or it's some kind of facade."

"What do you mean?" the Hokage asked curiously.

"Well, sometimes during lessons when I ask him a question, I can see in his eyes that he knows the correct answer but for some reason he gives me an incorrect one instead. Also, in sparring matches I can see that he has good taijutsu stances, but he never shows how good he is for some unknown reason. If he keeps this up, he will be the dead last. It's still the first year, though." Iruka replied with a sad expression. He knew that Naruto didn't have any family and that he lived alone. That's why Iruka befriended Naruto and acted like an older brother figure to him, but he never helped him in any academy subjects because it would look like favouritism. But it was not like Naruto ever asked anyone to help him. The academy teacher knew what his students were capable of and Naruto WAS capable enough to get good grades.

"Have you talked to him about that? Maybe if you talk to him, he won't act like that and will actually try... Anyway, thanks for telling me this. You may go now." the old Hokage replied with a kind smile.

"Hai, Hokage-sama" the teacher answered and left the room.

Hiruzen looked out the window for a minute and then returned to the nightmare of all Kages – paperwork.

One thought slipped through his mind,  _"Be safe."_

* * *

**-Next day in the academy-**

Iruka stood in front of the class, ready to announce the news about the field trip to everyone. He didn't have many students: there were some kids from shinobi clans and some civilian kids. Everyone was talented though, and everyone was ready to go on the field trip. At least, he thought so.

"Okay class, calm down and listen." Iruka called out, hoping everyone would listen. But that wasn't the case. It looked like no one even heard him.

"SHUT UP!" Iruka shouted while he thought  _"This happens every single day ..."_ The class went dead silent and turned their attention to the teacher. "Ahem... I talked to the Hokage yesterday and-"

He couldn't finish, because Naruto, who sat next to Sasuke, interrupted him "Did he allow you to teach us some kind of cool jutsu?"

"No-..."once again he couldn't finish the sentence.

"Aww… Maybe he will take us on some cool mission?" Naruto asked curiously.

Shikamaru had enough of Naruto's shouting. "Oi, Naruto. We're not even Genin so no one will take us on any kind of mission. And we will not learn any jutsu until next year because we haven't started to learn how to mold and use chakra. So calm down and listen what Iruka-sensei wants to say and let me sleep. Geez."

"Fine! But just because YOU don't know how to mold and use chakra doesn't mean everyone else here doesn't know how to!" Naruto replied angrily.

Shikamaru glanced at Naruto in curiosity,  _"I'm sure that no one here knows how to use chakra even for a simple Bunshin. Maybe he meant that HE can do that… I doubt it, though."_ After that, he decided not to bother himself with this topic.

But he wasn't the only one who shared his thoughts. Ino, who had overheard Naruto's conversation with Shikamaru said, "Naruto, I'm sure that no one here knows how to properly use chakra, even for simple Bunshin. The academy starts teaching it in the second year and those who are from a shinobi clan start learning it from their parents when they turn 9 years old. So don't say such stupid things, baka."

"Tch, whatever…" the blonde muttered.

But Iruka knew better - if Naruto said something like that, then Naruto really meant it.

And true to Iruka's thoughts, Naruto started to do tree climbing exercises in his free time. He could stand on a tree for an hour, but he kept improving.

Weeks ago, Naruto snuck into the shinobi section of the library and read a scroll about chakra control. Well, that had been the first scroll he could get to before the librarian noticed him.

The librarian (whose name was Akihiro) wasn't a bad person and didn't treat Naruto like other civilians; he had read books about Fuuinjutsu and knew some basics of the art of sealing. But still, he followed the rules and didn't allow civilians to go into the shinobi section, which was why he just asked Naruto to not ever go there until he become a ninja or he (Akihiro) would have to watch Naruto's every step in library. Naruto didn't want to lose Akihiro's trust and apologized. Akihiro allowed Naruto to keep the chakra control exercise scroll with one condition – to return it when Naruto mastered all the exercises. Seeing Naruto's joyful smile, the librarian smiled as well.

Back to the classroom.

Iruka decided not to think about Naruto at that particular moment. Instead he said, "As I  _tried_ to say before," He then sternly looked at Naruto and continued, "I talked to the Hokage yesterday and he has given me permission to take you on a 2 day field trip."

Immediately he mentioned the word ' _field trip_ ' everyone started shouting and discussing it with others. Well, not everyone was happy.

Some random civilian girl, whose name was Aiko, started to protest "Eew, but there are those disgusting bugs," when Shino heard this, his eyebrows twitched. The girl didn't notice it and continued, "And where will we sleep? And what about food? And where will we wash ourselves and-..."

Naruto interrupted her "Oi, Aiko, shut up! Bugs are very useful allies in battle!" he then looked at Shino, who was a bit surprised that Naruto defended him, and nodded to him in silent thanks. Then Naruto turned back to Aiko "And you are soon to become ninja. When ninjas go out on missions, they will have to sleep outside in almost every mission and find food in the forest if they want to survive."

Iruka nodded in agreement. "Yes, Naruto has a point there. And it's not like you have to go. If you don't want to, no one will insist."

" _Maybe he's not such an idiot like he acts… troublesome…"_  Shikamaru thought. Maybe he will talk to Naruto later to find out for sure whether he is an idiot or not. He wasn't the only one with similar thoughts.

" _So he isn't such an idiot like he wants everyone to believe. I knew something was not right about him._ " Sasuke thought, then looked at the shouting Naruto and smirked.

"SHUT UP!" Iruka yelled and received attention from students "There are still some things about this field trip you need to know. First, you have to ask your parents to sign this form if you want to go," he then gave everyone their forms and continued, "You have until the end of this week to hand it in. Secondly, the field trip will be 3 weeks from today, on Wednesday, and we will be back on Thursday afternoon. So don't forget to take supplies for a 2 day trip. Now, you are all dismissed for today."

With this, everyone nodded and ran out from the classroom. It was not every day the instructor allowed them to go home early, so they didn't need to be told twice. But there was one person who didn't go with everyone else. One Naruto Uzumaki. He sat in his seat with a sad expression on his face.

"What's the matter, Naruto?" Iruka asked with a small, warm smile. He already had an idea what was bothering the blonde student.

Naruto looked at the teacher and said "Well, no one's waiting for me anyway so I don't have to hurry. Besides…" he then looked back at the desk "…I don't have parents who can sign this form."

Iruka saw how sad Naruto was and he didn't like to see him like that. And he knew what could brighten Naruto's mood. Although he was sure his purse wouldn't like what he was going to do.

"Come, Naruto. I will treat you to Ichiraku ramen and once your mood lifts, we can discuss what we can do about this form."

"YAYY! RAMEN!" Naruto shouted and ran out of class "Come on, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka chuckled and watched with amusement and wondered how just a single bowl of ramen can change Naruto's mood. Or two bowls… or three… or … Oh Kami.

* * *

**-Later at Ichiraku Ramen stand-**

As Naruto ate, he and Iruka had a light talk about various things. When Naruto finished his last bowl for today, which was the 6th, he turned to Iruka with some kind of sad expression.

"So, what about this form? I can't go with everyone, right?"

"Well, that's not a problem. I can ask Hokage-sama to sign the form for you. I don't think he will mind. He will understand your situation." Iruka answered with a smile.

"Really? Oh man, Hokage-jiji is awesome." Naruto was very happy. The Hokage always took care of him when he could, and the Hokage was one of the first persons who acknowledged him. "I will be become as cool a Hokage as the Sandaime is and I will surpass the Yondaime! Believe it!"

Iruka sighed  _"And just a while ago you were all sad and depressed. This ramen is like a cure to you..."_

"That's quite a dream you have there, Naruto." said Teuchi, the stand owner, as he came out from the kitchen.

"Yeah! When I become stronger and become Hokage, everyone will acknowledge me!"

"Naruto… being Hokage is not just about being acknowledged, but about protecting the village and your loved ones with your life and making it better for everyone. And you can become even more powerful if you have precious people to protect." Iruka said. Really, he was amused by his dream. Naruto still had a lot of growing up to do if he wanted to accomplish this dream.

"Huh?" was all the answer Naruto could give to what Iruka said.

Iruka sighed "Never mind… You will understand it later. But if you want to be a Hokage, you must train really hard. If you continue to do pranks, skipping lessons and not paying attention in class, you won't get far in your ninja career."

"I know, Iruka-sensei…" Naruto had a thoughtful expression. He then decided to ask "Is it true that no one my class can use chakra properly?"

"Yeah, we start to teach kids how to use chakra in the second academy year. Why are you asking?" Iruka asked curiously.

"Well… to tell you the truth, I'm doing chakra control exercises now. I can climb the tree now, but I still need to master it. I can stay on the tree without using arms for 3 minutes. It is not enough in case if I need to fight while using tree climbing. And before I start doing water walking, I need to master tree climbing. But for some reason my chakra control is so poor. Also, the librarian told me to meditate to find out what my chakra flow is and I found out that my chakra reserves are too big for an academy student. In the beginning, I thought it was normal, but when I read some books, I was quite surprised… for now, I have reserves for an average Chunin. I don't know how that's possible, but I'm more than happy for it."

Iruka was very surprised. He didn't expect to hear those words from Naruto. To hear that he had been doing tree climbing exercises and was doing very well. He had always thought Naruto was only doing pranks in his free time.

Naruto saw the look on Iruka's and grinned "I'm not stupid, Iruka-sensei. Yes, in my free time I do pranks so people would notice me, but I also use my free time to go to library and read some books there. It is VERY boring, but I have to do it if I want to become a good ninja, right?".

"Naruto, I didn't expect this from you.. Heh, you surprised me a little bit." Iruka said.

"Are you sure I surprised only for ' _a little bit'_?" he replied with a wide smile.

"Okay, okay, you got me. You surprised me a lot. But why do you act like a idiot in class?"

Iruka knew he asked it in the rough way, but he wanted to just know why Naruto acted that way.

"Well, most of the things you teach in calss I already know from the books. And it's just so fun to prank you and make you angry in the front of whole class. And besides, I don't want to look better than anyone else. I could even become arrogant at the end of the academy if I felt I was better than the rest of the class." He honestly answered. In public he always seems to be dumb and a loud-mouth while in reality he was quite focused and determined. "Thank you for your treat, Iruka-sensei, but it's already late. See you tomorrow in academy. Oh, and please don't tell anyone about what we talked about today."

Before Iruka could say or ask anything else, Naruto was already gone.

_"Oh well, at least I know he is alright on his own. At least now I know some of the reasons for his acting… if those can be called reasonable."_  Iruka thought. He then finished his bowl and headed home in order to prepare for tomorrow's lessons.

* * *

**-3 days later, in the forest near Konoha-**

In the forest near Konoha, a small camp was set up which was well hidden between brushes and trees so it wouldn't be too easy to find it. It was night now. There was a small campfire – big enough to cook and small enough to stay hidden. From the faint light of the campfire, you could see two small tents which were big enough for one person in each. Also, there were three figures standing near the campfire. It was too dark and the campfire didn't give much light to see their faces or what they were dressed in.

One of the figures asked "Are you sure about this?".

The figure was apparently male. He had a rough voice and he looked muscular. It was too dark to see more details.

The second figure then spoke "Of course I'm sure. The Hokage himself allowed it. Old fool, he should know better than do something so foolish."

It didn't have as rough voice as the first figure, but it also belonged to a male. In a dark night you could see that he wasn't as muscular as the first one and he had shoulder length hair.

"It was indeed foolish to allow this…  _'trip'_ when the class has so many promising students. Especially those heirs from the clans. If your information is correct, we will get a nice amount of money once we capture some of them, although our priority is the Hyuuga heir. What was her name? Honata… no… Hunata… no that's not it… Hinata… yeah, Hinata, that was her name, right?"

The third and a final member of the band was a female. She had a beautiful voice, that kind of voice which singers usually would have. She had long hair which reached her shoulder blades and which she kept in a ponytail. Although it was dark, you could see a large bust she had. It wasn't as big as one of the sannin member had, but still in some years...

The first one nodded and turned to the second figure "What if there will be more ninja guarding them?"

"What, you scared, Shigeru? My, I thought you're tougher than that.." the female of the band laughed at her team mate.

"Shut up, Ryoko! Think with your head, not with those watermelons of yours," he then pointed at Ryoko's large bust and continued, "What if more ninjas appear? While we are strong, we can't take on a lot of ninjas at once. We need to find out how many ninjas will be there with the kids."

The female frowned when Shigeru pointed at her bust. She really didn't like when someone noticed these…  _"globes"_  and made comment about them.

She wouldn't admit it, but her team mate had a point. They couldn't face many ninjas at once, because while they were fighting, the kids could escape or someone might call for reinforcements.

"Whatever…" was the only thing she could say in reply.

Then the second figure spoke. "Don't worry. There will be only two ninjas with them. One is Iruka Umino. And the second is…" he then grinned evilly, "Well, tell you the truth, the second ninja who will lead them is me."

He then took out a map of a nearby area around Konoha and pointed at one place in the forest, near the river. "This is where me and Iruka will lead them, you just have to set up the traps here. Once the fighting starts, don't worry. Iruka isn't much of a fighter – being an academy instructor for so long, he lost some skills over the years."

The three then discussed the plan and agreed to it.

"It looks perfect. And those kids won't fight back – they don't teach them a lot in the first year after all." Shigeru answered, while he held his chin in his palm.

"Yeah. Well then, you should return to Konoha so no one notices your absence. In the meantime we will rest and prepare for this  _'operation'_ " Ryoko said and with that she stood up, and gracefully walked to her tent.

"Very well then." Said the second figure and he too left the scene.

While he was heading back to the village, only one thought slipped through his mind  _"Well, soon enough I will get the Byakugan and hand it over to Orochimaru who will reward me with that power he promised. And I should also kidnap that demon brat and sell it to another major village. Hehe, I will be rich and powerful in no time."_

With that, he had very malicious smile as he walked towards the village. For now, everything was perfect.

* * *

**-2 days before the trip-**

Today wasn't as sunny and hot day as it usually was in Konoha. Dark clouds covered the usually bright sky. It didn't start raining yet, but it looked like it will start any minute now. Also, it seemed the weather affected the villagers - there weren't as many smiles as usual and everyone tried to finish their business as quickly as possible in order to get back home earlier. No one wanted to stay out for too long.

Things weren't better in the Academy. The class was unusually silent and the students listened to Iruka's lessons. Although one couldn't say 'unusually silent' about one Nara kid - he always sleeps. Even the usual loudmouth, Naruto, didn't do any pranks or disrupt the lesson. Iruka wasn't complaining. Although he liked that his students paid more attention to him and he didn't need to shout to silence them, still, the eerie mood unnerved him a bit. He was used to the loud class and seeing them like this was a bit scary. Well, as scary as it could get with class full of 8 year olds.

Now when the lesson came to an end, he decided to brighten up the mood a bit. What he was going to say would definitely bring joy to his student's faces, "It is almost the end of the lesson," he then stopped, looked at his students and saw some smiles. He then continued, "But before you go I wanted to announce two things... It's about the trip, so listen carefully."

"The first thing is... there is too many of us and I don't want to scatter you all around the forest in your own tents. So you will need to share with others. Let's see... those who have bigger tents will need share with those who have smaller ones. It will also help you to look out for each other, almost like an experienced Genin team. I would say one 'team' should consist of 2 to 4 members. Also, there will be some team games while on the trip with a prize to winners."

The moment he finished speaking, the class's mood was far better than it was - everyone started chatting and making 'teams'. Iruka didn't mind it and allowed them to sort out the teams after which he said, "Listen up! I will give you 20 minutes to sort out the teams. After you're done, you need to choose a leader of the team and come to me so I can write down the names."

* * *

'It will be so much fun! They could sleep in one tent and do so many things together; they won't have to be by themselves. They could share the food!' That was the summary of everyone's thoughts. But Naruto wasn't one of them. He had a somewhat sad and disappointed expression on his face.  _"Oh man, this is just great... I don't have a tent at all and nobody will want to share with me. Hell, I don't even have normal friends here. At least no one here is glaring at me like the others in the village do..."_

And he wasn't the only one with those thoughts. Sasuke, who sat next to Naruto, was thinking almost the same.  _"Great. Although I have a tent, I don't want to stay by myself. And I don't have any friends here either so no one will invite me."_  Well, except for his fan-girls, if they could ever be considered friends. And he would never go to them. Never. Ever. Even if it was the end of the world.

The Uchiha clan were a very arrogant clan. As far as Sasuke could remember, he was always taught that the Uchiha was the most powerful clan in Konoha, as well as their Sharingan, their kekkei genkai, is the most powerful dojutsu(2) and most powerful bloodline. His father, Fugaku, always said  _"Don't pay attention to the lower class people. They are not worth our time. We are elite, so we will associate ourselves only with elites"._  Although he didn't like what he heard, he knew better than to argue with his father, so he just agreed with him. He thought people should treat each other equally and that kind of attitude will only make enemies. At least he had his brother with him, Itachi, who had the same thoughts as Sasuke.

Itachi was a very loving brother and always helped Sasuke with his training whenever he could. He didn't like his clan either, he actually despised them, although he didn't show it. The only thing the Uchiha (except him) were interested in was power. Any and everything for more power. Itachi tried to ensure that Sasuke knew that it was alright to be friends with classmates, but Sasuke was still afraid of his father. What if he found out somehow and then punished him for associating with 'lower class' people? Itachi could understand the feeling. After all, Fugaku was the head of the Uchiha clan. That's why Sasuke acted unfriendly towards everyone. If someone asked him something, he would answer, but he would never start a conversation on his own. Itachi vowed to Sasuke that someday he could enjoy his life and make friends just like everyone else.

Sasuke then put those thoughts aside and tried to find a solution to his problem. He turned his head to the right and saw Naruto's gloomy facial expression  _"Oh, that's right... Naruto doesn't have much friends either. Maybe-..."_  Before he could finish his thoughts, he heard someone call out to the blonde.

"Oi, Naruto!" someone shouted.

Naruto turned to find who had called him. After some seconds he saw Shikamaru's intent gaze. He (Naruto) then figured out it was him (Shika) who called.

"What is it, Shikamaru?" He asked.

"Well... me and Choji decided to ask if you would like to be on our 'team'." He simply answered, still looking at Naruto.

The blonde was surprised. He didn't expect to actually be invited to a team. He thought he would be left out like he usually was. But Naruto knew better than to blindly trust anyone, even his classmates. His life at the orphanage taught him that.

"Why me? I'm sure there are many others who would like to be on your team. Besides, I will just slow you down when we will set up a camp and I probably will embarrass you with my behavior." he replied carefully.

Choji, who stayed silent the whole time, finally spoke. "You're not so bad Naruto. It's actually funny to see all those pranks and your jokes."

"But-"

"Oh shut up, Naruto. Stop acting. I know you're not as stupid like you want everyone to think. And words you just spoke prove it."

Now, this caught Sasuke's attention.

"Huh?" Naruto muttered.  _"Did I say something wrong which was out of my academy character?"_  he wondered.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. Did he really need to explain it him?  _"Troublesome..."_  "The loudmouth Naruto which you usually pretend to be would have accepted this offer immediately and he would be confident about his abilities. He also wouldn't say that 'behavior' crap as well. And it's not like you have any choice anyway - I don't think anyone else will invite you."

_"Argh... I knew it! If someone could figure out I was acting, it would be the Nara and their brains. Thank Kami no one's paying attention to our conversation..."_  Naruto thought with some worry in his eyes, oblivious to the fact that Sasuke was also listening. "Fine, I really don't have much choice, right?"

"Right. Also, we want you to be our team leader." Choji said.

When his ears caught the words 'you' and 'team leader' in one sentence, he was shocked. He was surprised at first when he was invited to a team, and now said team wants him to be their leader?! It was too much for his poor brain. "What? Why me? I'm not sure if I'll be good enough for you guys." he asked with surprise.

_"So he puts others in first and doesn't care about himself... interesting."_ Shikamaru thought and then answered. "Yes, we want you to be our team leader. Firstly, I'm too lazy to be one, Choji doesn't fit for this role either. Secondly, it's not some kind of dangerous mission or anything - just a field trip with some team games. And I'm sure it will be fun with your attitude." With that, he smiled, bringing out his ace. "And finally, you need to practice some leadership skills if you want to be Hokage, right?" Now Shikimaru was grinning like madman. _"Checkmate."_

"Ugh, fine. As you said, it's not some kind of mission so I can do it. Nothing will happen to us anyway. But using my dream against me was unfair." He then looked at the smiling Shikamaru and asked "But don't say anything to anyone about my acting. Please." He really didn't want to show his true personality to others. He wanted it to be a surprise when they actually became ninja. And although shouting about how he was going to become the strongest Hokage ever was part of his acting, part of his 'mask', it was also his sincere dream.

"Sure. Besides, I would like to know you better. For now, you're one big, blonde mystery and I hate mysteries. Want to be our friend?" Shikamaru asked and Choji just nodded, showing that he didn't mind having another friend.

Naruto was VERY happy. _"Finally! I can have some friends!"_ he thought. For as long as he could remember, for some reason, other kids always stayed away from him and didn't let him play with them.

But before he could answer, they heard someone screaming. When they turned their heads to see who screamed, they saw a group of Sasuke's fan-girls arguing about something. Then all the girls looked at Sasuke, and to his utter horror, they started to run towards him and shouting "SASUKE-KUN! Join my team!" and "Sasuukee-kuun! Don't listen to her, join me!". The leader of fan-girls was none other than Ino. And right beside her was Sakura, her rival.

If there was something Sasuke really didn't like, it was fan-girls. Why? First, they only cared about their looks and couldn't make interesting conversation. Secondly, for some unknown reason, they were always shouting; it brought headaches. And Sasuke somehow always knew what they were planning to do.

Before the girls could reach Sasuke and 'claim' him, he set his escape plan in motion.

"Shikamaru! Can I join your team?" he urgently asked while shedding anime tears.

Shikamaru was a bit surprised, because Sasuke had never showed so many emotions - fear, hope and desperation all at the same time. But he understood his situation, he would have done the same thing in his place.

"Troublesome... Ask Naruto, he's team leader. I don't mind though, I know how dangerous fan-girls sometimes are. But my tent is only for 3 people so somebody will have to bring a bigger one." he answered with small smile.

"Don't worry about the tent - I have one big enough for 4 people." Sasuke urgently answered and looked at Naruto with pleading eyes.

Naruto wanted to agree - the more the merrier. But at the same, he didn't want to, because as far as he knew, Sasuke wasn't very friendly. But as we all know, he was not the kind of a person who said 'no' if someone needed his help.

"Fine, I don't mind. But be friendly at least and don't ignore us when we speak to you." Naruto answered.

Sasuke just nodded.  _"Maybe now I could make some friends on this trip and my father wouldn't know about it."_ he thought with a smile. "Thanks, guys. You really saved me from those... banshees."

Right after he finished that sentence, the just mentioned 'banshees' finally reached 'their Sasuke-kun'. Before they could start to shout and scream, Naruto said "Sorry, girls, but Sasuke is already on my team."

The girls looked at Naruto with confusion and one civilian family girl frowned and said "Oh, please. Who would like to be on  _your'_  team? Ha, even if you could be in a team, no one would allow  _you_ to be a team leader," and then she laughed and continued with a sweet voice "So, Sasuke-kun, would you-"

But before she could finish, Sasuke angrily interrupted, "Shut up. It's true, I'm on his team already and he IS the team leader." He really hated when someone sounded superior to someone else.

"B-b-bu-but why? W-Why would YOU like to be on a team with t-t-that... t-that... d-demon. My mum always says he is a d-demon." she stuttered. She was shocked to see such a reaction from 'her Sasuke-kun'.

"And here it starts again..." Naruto muttered.

But Shikamaru heard him.  _"Demon? Is that the reason why he doesn't have any friends? Why would parents say such things?"_ Shikimaru thought curiously. But today wasn't the day he could ask them any question in the matter.

"Demon? Is that why you show your superiority over him?" Sasuke asked angrily. He wasn't in the mood to argue with fan-girls. Besides, it was pointless anyway, because they would agree with anything Sasuke said (and that was one more reason why he didn't like them). "Listen, I really don't like girls like you, so I wouldn't have joined you anyway. I mean, all you care about is how you look and your obsession over me. If you're going to continue like this, then I suggest you quit the  _'ninja'_  academy, because  _IF_  you become a ninja, you will be dead-weight on a team and you will die quickly on a mission."

"B-But-"

"Begone. You annoy me." He turned away from them and didn't say anything else.

_"Wow, that was rough, but I can't disagree with him. And it's also is the first time I've seen him saying so many sentences in one day."_ Naruto thought and chuckled. Others were a bit surprised as well - it's the first time they saw this side of Sasuke.

The girls went to their seats with aura of depression over them. They had never expected this reaction from 'their Sasuke-kun'.

Just after this little scene was finished, Iruka called the team leaders to write down the names. He was very surprised about Naruto, but at the same time he was happy for him. He deserved to have some friends.

"Okay, listen up now! Before you go, there is something else I wanted to announce. Those who are going on the trip don't have to come to the academy tomorrow, in order to prepare. But those who are not going to the trip will have to attend academy tomorrow, Wednesday and on Thursday."

Half of the class was happy and the other half was not happy for obvious reasons.

"Why do we have to attend the academy while everyone else will is relaxing?" someone asked.

"This field trip is not about relaxation. It will be a real field experience for them. Also, they will have lectures, too. Me and Mizuki will not be in the academy for the next 3 days, so those of you who are not going on the field trip, listen carefully. Your lessons will be held in room 213. The teacher there already knows about this. Oh, and for those who are going on the trip - don't forget to be be here on Wednesday at 9.00 am or we will leave without you and you will have to attend the academy. That's all. See you on Wednesday. Class dismissed."

As everyone started to head out of the class, Naruto nervously asked his companions "H-Hey guys. D-Do you want to meet tomorrow so we could buy supplies for a trip and hang out a bit?" It was the first time in some years he had asked someone to hang out with him. He thought they wouldn't come, but this time, it wasn't the case.

"Sure, why not? Tomorrow we don't have academy so I don't have anything else to do, anyway. I could stay home but my mum would force me to do more troublesome things." Shikamaru answered.

"Yeah, why not? I don't have anything to do tomorrow, either." Chouji said.

Naruto was VERY happy. For the first time in his life, someone accepted his invitation. He then turned to look at Sasuke and asked him, "What about you, Sasuke? Wanna come?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto, but then turned away so no one could see his sad expression. "Sorry... but I can't. My...  _father_  will need my help tomorrow in some matters." He lied sadly. His father didn't need any help. Ever. He just wouldn't be allowed to hang out with 'low class people'. And the only clan they didn't consider 'low class' was the Hyuuga clan. But the Uchiha hated the Hyuuga clan more than anything, because the Hyuuga were their so called 'eternal rivals' or something.

Naruto and Shikamaru noticed the scowl on Sasuke's face when he mentioned his father and decided not to push the matter.

"Okay then. Let's meet tomorrow in the nearby park at 11.00 am. See ya, guys." Naruto said happily and went home.

"Yeah, bye." Choji and Shikamaru answered and went in the other direction.

* * *

**-Same day, Uchiha compound-**

"What do you mean you're on a team in this field trip?" Fugaku, Sasuke's father, asked his son after hearing about everything Iruka had said.

Fugaku had long, dark brown hair that reached down to his shoulders and onyx-colored eyes, with visible creases below them (like Itachi has). He wore a black shirt with the Uchiha symbol on the shoulders, grey pants and a black, open-front apron with white diamonds on the bottom.

Sasuke sighed and answered calmly. "Father, please answer me who is better? A group of civilian fan-girls or a group of kids from ninja families?"

"Why are you asking? Of course those from ninja families. Fan-girls are a pitiful excuse for female ninja, I bet they don't even know what a kunai is."

"There you go, father. When I saw a group of fan-girls heading in my direction, I demanded to be part of the most promising team." Sasuke calmly answered.

"You demanded to be part of the most  _'promising'_? Heh, I like that, son. Remember to show your team how grateful they should be that you're with them. Dismissed."

"Very well, father." Sasuke said and left the room.

_"That went better than I imagined. Thank Kami he didn't ask who is on this team. I can't believe he is my father... If only mother was here."_ Sasuke sadly thought.

He then remembered the day he saw his mother for the last time.

_(Flashback 3 years ago)_

"Be a good boy and listen to your brother. Here, take this lunch box and share it with Itachi." Mikoto said while giving young Sasuke his lunch box.

Mikoto was a fair-skinned woman with long, black hair with bangs hanging on either side of her face to roughly frame her cheeks and black eyes. She wore a simple dark purple blouse with a red-plum skirt and a light-yellow apron over it.

Sasuke took the lunch box and said "Thanks, kaa-san. When will you return from your mission?"

"I don't know. Maybe after 2 days, maybe after 4 days. It depends on many circumstances." she answered.

"Okay then. Love you, kaa-san."

"Aww, love you too, sweetheart." she said with sweet voice and kissed her son on forehead, after which Sasuke and Itachi went outside.

-After 3 days-

It was late evening. After some light training, Sasuke and Itachi returned home. There, they saw a crowd of people talking to their father. It didn't look like anything important to them, so they just ignored the crowd and walked to their rooms. After a quick shower, Sasuke heard his father calling for him and his brother. He quickly dried himself, changed clothes and headed to the kitchen.

When he arrived in the kitchen, he sat next to Itachi. In front of him sat Fugaku. Sasuke wondered where his mother was.

"Sasuke... Itachi..." Fugaku started the conversation with an emotionless face.

"Where is mother? Did something happen to her?" Itachi asked, worry in his eyes.

"Your mother... is dead." Fugaku answered without any sadness in his eyes, but he sounded sad.

"What? NO! It can't be true. You're lying." Sasuke shouted, tears forming in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, but it is true. We found her dead this morning with a kunai stabbed into her heart. After we found her, we returned to the village. We presume she was killed during her night watch by enemy ninja."

"No... It can't be true..." Sasuke quietly said, his eyes full of tears. Itachi wasn't faring any better. He had tears in his eyes, though not as much as Sasuke had - he could control his emotions better.

_"Mother... "_  Itachi thought, remembering all their happy times together. But then he realized something  _"Something is not right here. Even if one squad member was killed while on a mission, they wouldn't abandon the whole mission. They would have sealed the body in a scroll or waited for reinforcements to take body and then continue with their mission."_  He thought, but he decided not to speak his concerns. He will do his own investigation later.

"In 2 days time there will be funeral for her. Please, be ready." With that, Fugaku stood up and left the kitchen, leaving his two sons to mourn their mother's death.

_(Flashback end)_

A single tear fell from Sasuke's eyes when he remembered the painful memory.

_"No, my mother wouldn't want me to cry. She wouldn't like me to mourn forever."_  Sasuke thought and wiped away the tear and headed to his room to get some sleep.

* * *

**-Next day-**

The next day was much warmer and brighter than the previous one. Shikamaru, Choji and Naruto were walking around the village and were having a light chat on various topics. The group was receiving hateful glares from the villagers. It wasn't the whole group who received them, though... It was the one blond kid in the group who received all the glares. And Shikamaru noticed it.

"Hey, Naruto. Why everyone is glaring at you? What did you do to them?" Shikamaru asked curiously.

Naruto put his hands behind his head showing that he was quite relaxed and answered the question of his new friend "I don't really know. As far as I can remember, I've always received them. I'm used to them now."

"Strange. If you didn't do anything, why would they look at you like that?" Chouji asked while munching his crisps.

_"Is it about the demon thing that other girl talked about yesterday? I will need to ask dad later."_  Shikamaru thought.

As they continued to wander around the village and continued their chit chat, they decided to buy some supplies for tomorrow's trip. Now they stood in front of a grocery store and were ready to head in when Naruto stopped them.

"You guys go ahead and buy the stuff we about discussed before. I'lll wait for you here."

"Umm, Naruto. Don't you want to come in with us?" Choji asked and gave Naruto a confused look.

"Well, I want to go, but they will just throw me out. And if we will go to shops where I'm allowed in, they will just overprice everything for me. They say it's some kind of tax, but I don't quite believe them. But there's nothing I can do about it." Naruto answered without a care in the world.

"WHAT?" both Choji and Shikamaru asked. They were completely shocked after hearing that.

"But how do you live? I mean, do you have enough money to feed yourself?" Choji asked. He couldn't help but to be a bit worried for his new friend.

"Hokage-jiji always gives me a monthly allowance. When I receive the money, I carefully plan on what I'm buying so I could survive the month."

"You don't have any parents, right?" Shikamaru asked. After he received a nod from Naruto, he continued "Why aren't you in the orphanage, then?"

Naruto didn't want to tell them, but they were his new friends after all. And it looked they were worried about him. "Well, when I was 5 they kicked me out."

Shikamaru widened his eyes and Choji stopped eating his crisps. But before they could ask anything else, Naruto continued "And I'm happy they did. I wasn't treated very well there anyway. Look... I don't want to talk about this, so please don't ask anymore. And please don't say anything to others."

Both Choji and Shikamaru nodded in agreement and decided to ask him later, when he will open up more to them.

"C'mon, Choji. Let's go and buy the supplies while Naruto is waiting here. Naruto, meet us here after 20 minutes, ok?"

"Sure. See ya later, guys" Naruto waved to friends and decided to walk around the village for a bit, ignoring all the glares.

**-20 minutes later-**

As Naruto came closer to the meeting spot, he saw Shikamaru and Choji already waiting. He greeted them and decided to browse through all the goods they bought.

"Okay... You bought everything we will need for tomorrow." Naruto said. After that, his stomach growled. indicating it was time for lunch. Naruto smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment "Right... Wanna come and grab a bite to eat before we go home?"

Choji smiled "Sure, why not?" he answered. "Where to?"

"Let's go to Ichiraku Ramen. It's the only place I'm treated with kindness." Naruto answered with a sad smile.

Both friends didn't want to argue, seeing Naruto's sad expression, so they just agreed. And they didn't mind ramen either.

**-At ramen stand-**

"Hi Teuchi-jiji, Ayame-san." Naruto greeted Ichiraku Ramen stand owner and his daughter who also worked there. Both of them were very kind to Naruto and didn't see him as the 'demon brat' as others did.

"Hey, Naruto." both of them greeted.

"How are you?" Ayame asked.

"I'm fine, thanks. I've got a field trip tomorrow, so me and my new friends bought some supplies. We're in one team for this trip." Naruto answered with happy face.

"New friends? Care to introduce them?" Ayame curiously asked the blonde.

"Yeah. The lazy looking one is Shikamaru Nara and the one who is eating crisps is Choji Akimichi."

"Nice to meet you. I'm very happy for you, Naruto. You finally made some friends." she said with a warm smile.

Then they took their seats with Choji sitting next to Naruto and Shikamaru next to Choji.

"So whatn are your orders?" Teuchi asked.

"One miso ramen please" Shikamaru said.

"The usual, five bowls of miso ramen." Naruto said with big smile. Ramen was his favorite food and today he could spent extra for it.

Choji was surprised at Naruto's large order and took it as an unspoken challenge and ordered six bowls of beef ramen. It was his pride as an Akimichi to out eat anyone no matter the circumstances.

After 20 minutes of eating and chatting, Choji couldn't take another bite.

"I can't believe it... someone ate more than I did." Choji said to Naruto with respect. Almost no one could out eat an Akimichi and just now Naruto did it like it was a piece of cake.

Shikamaru was surprised as well.  _"So Choji is not the only one with black hole for a stomach... troublesome."_

"Well, ramen is my favorite food after all. Teuchi-jiji, one more bowl of miso ramen please. It will be the last for today." Naruto said.

Choji couldn't believe Naruto had ordered another bowl. He had eaten 10 bowls and Naruto is ordering 12th... "Naruto. It doesn't mean I will lose next time!" he said in a challenging tone.

Shikamaru cried anime tears and said "Why do all my friends have to eat so much? Why does no one else enjoy sleeping or watching the clouds as much as I do?"

Choji and Naruto laughed at their friend's antics "Someday, you will meet that kind of person, Shikamaru,"

They then paid for their food, said goodbye to each other and went home.

* * *

**-Next day-**

It was a sunny Wednesday morning. Although it was a bit cool, it was still pleasant. In front of the academy stood many student separated into groups of twos, threes and fours. Everyone had bags and backpacks and everyone was yawning.

"Good morning, class" Iruka greeted them.

"Morning, Iruka-sensei."

"Now, I will call your names and check who's here and who's not. I will start with team leaders. After I call your name, you have to step forward." After that was done, he continued "Now I will call others. When I call your names, you have to join your team leader." After 5 minutes of checking, "Okay, everyone's here. Let's move out. We're heading to the village gates."

After that was said, Iruka moved forward with students behind him, and behind the crowd of kids were Mizuki.

No one noticed the malicious smirk on his face.

* * *

**-Near the village gates-**

"So, when do you think we will reach our destination?" Naruto asked his companions, trying to make light conversation while they were walking.

"How should we know if we don't even know where our destination is? But I think in one or two hours we should be there." Shikamaru answered.

"Shikamaru has a point, Naruto. Iruka-sensei wouldn't select a place too far away from the village, because we are not ninja yet and most people here can't keep walking for more than 2 or 3 hours without rest." Sasuke answered with a smile. He was happy he could finally talk with someone and not have to be afraid of his father.

"Hey Sasuke *munch*, how come you're actually *munch* talking with us?" Choji asked curiously while eating his never ending bag of crisps.

"Yeah... and you're smiling too. Something's wrong here. Now who are you and what did you do to the brooding Uchiha?" Naruto added with a small chuckle.

Sasuke's eye twitched in annoyance. "Just because I don't talk in class and act like ' _brooding Uchiha_ ' doesn't mean I'm one."

Shikamaru rolled his eyes and sighed  _"Geez. My class is full of clowns and actors. I sometimes wonder if this really is a ninja academy and not some theatre school."_

"Oh really? Then why do you act like 'brooding Uchiha' when you can easily make friends like everyone else?"

"..."

"There you go!" Naruto laughed.

"What about you? I'm sure if you didn't act like an idiot, you could make friends as well" Sasuke answered with a victorious grin as he saw how it silenced Naruto. But he failed to notice the sad expression on his face.

It didn't go unnoticed by Shikamaru and Choji.

"Shut up, idiot!" Shikamaru whispered so Naruto couldn't hear him. When he saw Sasuke's confusion, he decided to elaborate "Do you remember what that girl said to him yesterday in class?" After getting a nod from Sasuke, he continued, "Then it shouldn't be that hard to realize why exactly he didn't have friends. For some reason, parents tell their children to stay away him."

After hearing that, Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He then whispered back to him "I thought it was the way she showed her superiority over Naruto."

Choji shook his head "No. *munch* He told us yesterday *munch* he was treated that way *munch* ever since he can remember *munch*. But he *munch* doesn't know why."

"Yeah. And we saw how villagers were glaring at him yesterday when we met up."

"Why would anyone do that to him?" Sasuke asked.

Shikamaru shrugged. "No one knows. But this topic is a bit painful for that troublesome blonde."

When Sasuke looked at said blonde's face, he saw an expression of pain and sadness. Almost the same expression Sasuke sometimes sees in a mirror. He then realized, Naruto had it worse than he did.

Naruto, oblivious (as always) to the whispering, decided not to think about his past and changed the topic "Hey, guys, wanna pull some pranks on sensei or the other kids?" he asked while grinning like mad.

Sasuke smirked and was relieved at Naruto's sudden change of mood. Shikamaru and Choji just smirked, showing they agreed with him.

* * *

Unknown to them all, even for the two Chunin, they were followed and watched; They were followed by a man wearing a weasel mask, indicating he was an ANBU member. He was none other than Itachi Uchiha. He wore black pants, short-sleeved shirt and grey chest armor, metal arm guards and gloves. He also had a simple sword on his back.

He was happy seeing his brother laughing with his classmates. Sasuke would have been able to do that long ago if it weren't for their father. Just thinking about their father made Itachi frown.

He then remembered why he was there.

_Flashback. 1 day before the trip._

"You summoned me, Hokage-sama?" Itachi asked the leader of their village.

Hiruzen looked at Itachi with tiredness present in his eyes. He then poofed out a cloud of smoke from his pipe and answered,"Yes, Itachi. I have a special mission for you. Well, it's more of a request than a mission."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, curious at what the Hokage would ask of him. "And what would it be?"

"As you may know, the kids in the academy have a field trip." When he received a nod from Itachi, he continued, "I want to ask you if you could keep an eye on them until the trip ends."

Now Itachi was curious why the Hokage would request such a task. After all, there would be two Chuunin with the kids. "But why, Hokage-sama? From what I've heard, this trip is not far from the village and there would be two Chuunin with the kids. Why should an ANBU watch them?"

"You have a point there, Itachi, but my intuition tells me something is going to happen. Maybe I'm just being paranoid - 8 year old kids outside the village and most of them are clan heirs... a lot can happen." he poofed another cloud of smoke "Still I can't get rid from this feeling, that's why I want to give them some extra protection. Just in case if something happens." Hokage answered.

"I see. Very well, I accept your request. It will also be interesting to see how my brother interacts with others." Itachi said with a small smile. He really wanted to see if Sasuke could still make friends after so much time without normal socializing.

"Thank you. Make sure to stay hidden... Also, do not interfere unless it's a life and death situation. I feel something's going to change in this trip... Something very important is going to happen."

"What do you mean, Hokage-sama?"

"I do not know, Itachi. Interfere only if it is life and death situation, understood?" the old Hokage ordered with power behind his words, showing why he was still the village leader.

Despite Hokage's tone though, it didn't affect the young Uchiha genius. He was a professional and only few things could scare him. "Hai, Hokage-sama. I will leave now and prepare for the 2 day trip."

When Itachi received a nod from his leader, he left, still wondering what old Sarutobi meant.

_"I still can't shake this feeling."_  the Hokage thought. And when he saw a pile of papers in front him, he frowned  _"Ugh... this paperwork will kill me one day."_

_Flashback end_

_"I still can't see what can go wrong here. But if Hokage-sama is right, then I better keep my eye on them."_

Itachi then focused on his mission (if this could be a called a mission for an ANBU captain) and continued to watch the kids while he was trying to keep hidden. Well, he didn't need to try after all... They were only a bunch of kids and 2 Chuunin.

* * *

**-Back with the kids-**

An hour and a half had passed since they left the village. Now the kids and the two teachers were standing in a nice forest clearing surrounded by trees which was lit by sunlight. The shadows from the trees gave a mysterious and beautiful sight, One could hear various birds chirping and singing from the trees as well; you could even hear the bubbling of a stream or a small river nearby. The water gave off a nice and fresh smell in the clearing, while the sound of the rushing water also gave off a relaxing sensation. If one looked closely, one could also spot some forest animals between the bushes: rabbits, small foxes, squirrels and many more wild life. The kids widened their eyes when they saw the beautiful clearing, smelled the fresh air and saw the wild animals. Never in their lives had they seen something so beautiful - not even in Konoha. They were happy they went on this trip. The kids hoped this will be the place they will stay.

_"Perfect spot!"_ Iruka thought, with a large smile while breathing the fresh forest air, free from village's various scents. "Okay, listen up! We'll make our camp here. I want each team to set up their tents in 30 minutes. Make sure you're not very far away from other teams. Then we will have a 1 hour break, where we will eat and relax. Then for 3 hours you will have a lecture with me and Mizuki-sensei here and some light activities. After that, we will have our first team game. Is that clear?"

"Hai, sensei." everyone said in unison.

Iruka smiled and continued "Do not wander too far away from the camp or you will have to spend the rest of the trip near me. Now, go prepare your tents."

With another 'Hai' in unison from everyone, the kids started to unpack their bags and start building their tents. The first team to complete this task was none other than Naruto's team. They did everything in 10 minutes in which Naruto showed great organization and leading skills (as great as an 8 year old could have), where he assigned his teammates various tasks: Sasuke and himself were setting up the tent, Choji went to gather some dry logs, or sticks or whatever ccould burn, while Shikamaru set up the fireplace and put food on table (if a wooden plate on two wooden logs, which Choji brought, could be considered a table). Their small 'camp' was not too far from forest, next to a large tree – the largest in the clearing. Naruto chose this place, because he knew his friend Shikamaru liked to watch clouds. It was more comfortable to lay on a tree branch and stare at the sky than lay on the ground. Anyway, they were quite happy they finished first, that meant they had more free time, which they used to chat and get to know each other better.

The second team, which finished in 14 minutes, was Shino's team, consisting of Shino, Kiba and Hinata (isn't it ironic). They were not far from Naruto's team. Kiba took care of finding something to burn, seeing he had the most energy, Shino was setting up the tent, while Hinata was busy doing her magic near the fireplace and preparing the food. After everything was done, they decided to explore the beautiful clearing. Shino was interested in bugs, obviously; Hinata was wondering if there would be any medical herbs in the forest. She had a book in her hand with various pictures with plants. Kiba... well Kiba was being Kiba - running around and trying to come up with something fun to do.

The third team, which finished in 19 minutes from the start was Sakura's team, consisting of Sakura, Ino and two random girls whose names were Sayu and Hinagiku. Naruto's team were impressed, especially Sasuke. They expected this team to finish the last and complain about whatever fan-girls could complain about in the forest. Well, Sayu and Hinagiku were complaining and didn't do much. Both of them got the food, setup the fireplace and just sat there, waiting for something, while Sakura was setting up a tent with a victorious smile and Ino was searching for wood with a frown. The reason for that was because Sakura and Ino were arguing about who will set up the tent. Why they were arguing, no one will ever know. But it seemed Sakura won. Now both girls were searching for 'Sasuke-kun' to spend more time with him (to Sasuke's horror), while the other two were just sitting near fireplace and waiting for something to happen. At least now Ino and Sakura didn't call Sasuke theirs. They agreed to spent more time becoming a ninja, hoping it will get Sasuke's attention, but they were still the fan-girls.

It's a good thing that Naruto's team were hiding in their tent so the girls wouldn't find them. To be more precise, wouldn't find Sasuke. The other kids managed to complete their task before 30 minutes had passed.

"Okay, time's up! Those who didn't manage to set up everything, you will do it later. Now everyone come here so we can begin our lesson." Iruka shouted so everyone could hear him.

Almost everyone frowned and then sighed. Even outside of the academy they would get their lessons. Someone even muttered 'troublesome'. You can try and guess who it was.

As the kids gathered in front of their teachers, Mizuki decided it was the time to set his plan in motion. He secretly made some hand signs behind his back so no one would notice them. After that was done, three figures behind the trees saw the signs and started their plan. They quickly did half dozen hand seals in complete sync, ended on the ram seal and muttered  **"Release"**. After that was done, the area in clearing where everyone was, slowly filled with invisible chakra. This chakra came from four seal tags that were placed around the clearing. Also, there was a well hidden fifth seal not far from kids. The fifth seal attracted chakra from the other seals, thus leading chakra to clearing. But it that wasn't the only purpose of the 5th seal. One of the figures did another set of hand seals and calmly said  **"Silent dream!".** After that, the 5th seal glowed a bit and all the chakra in the area was filled with various drugs.

Everyone in the area suddenly felt tired and their eyelids became heavier. Most of the kids were already on the ground, sleeping. The only ones left standing were Naruto, Iruka, Mizuki, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Shino. Although the latter three were barely fighting back the sleep, after a moment they all collapsed, unable to continue. On the other hand, Iruka wasn't affected because he had some experience by being a Chuunin and felt the genjutsu, he dispelled it and Mizuki did the same. Naruto was feeling a bit tired but he also could fight back, thanks to demonic chakra mixed with his normal one, thus this kind of genjutsu didn't work on him _*1*_.

* * *

" _So Hokage-sama was right after all. But I can't intervene now, I need to find out who attacked them and why."_  Itachi thought.

He reduced the distance between those who were still standing and suppressed his chakra as much as possible in order to stay hidden.

* * *

"What the hell?!" shouted Iruka. "Mizuki! Check the perimeter and send word to Hokage-sama, meanwhile I will check on kids!"

"That won't be necessary." Mizuki replied, grinning. Three figures then jumped from the forest side and stood next to Mizuki. After that, they took off their cloaks and showed themselves.

To the right of Mizuki stood a female (Ryoko). She had a round face, narrow, green eyes, and brown hair which reached her shoulder blades, which she kept in ponytail. She wore a long, green chinese style dress with slits on the either side for easy movement, which reached a bit past her knees. Under the dress she had a mesh armor and tight shorts. Also, she wore a simple pair shinobi sandals. She had a shuriken holster attached to her right thigh for easy reach.

To the left of Mizuki stood a muscular man(Shigeru). He wore a pair of shinobi sandals, ANBU pants which reached his ankles, grey shin pads, a muscle shirt and arm guards. He had a kunai holster attached to his left thigh. He had short, brown hair.

Both of them wore hitai-ate with a music note on their forehead.

"What's the meaning of it? Mizuki, who are they?" Iruka worriedly asked.

"Yeah, Mizuki, tell him who we are and why we're here." Ryoko said with a smirk.

"Don't be stupid, Ryoko. Why would we want to tell our plans to an enemy?" Shigeru said with annoyance. He wanted to finish as quickly as possible.

"He has a point, Ryoko. Now, Iruka, hand over Hinata and Naruto and we will leave you alive." Mizuki said with a grin.

"What? Iruka-sensei, what is Mizuki-sensei talking about?" Naruto asked. To say he was a bit confused would be a misunderstanding of the century.

"I don't know Naruto, but listen. Run to the village and inform Hokage about what happened here and request help." Iruka answered.

"Ahh, he is not going anywhere. You see, we need the demon brat for our plans." Mizuki answered, chuckling.

Although Mizuki wasn't as close to Naruto like Iruka was, it was still painful to hear your sensei call you what the rest of the village does. Now, Naruto was feeling sad and his anger was rising. He had had enough - first, the villagers called him demon brat, then he goes on athe trip, trying to have fun with his new friends. Then some random people appear, put a genjutsu on everyone and talk about taking Hinata and him for some plans. And then his own sensei calls him demon.

"Why, Mizuki! Why does everyone calls me demon? Why do you?" Naruto demanded, while having tears in his eyes.

"You really wanna know?" Mizuki smirked, "Fine."

"No, Mizuki, you can't. It's an S-class secret!" Iruka tried to reason with the traitor.

"Who cares about that? I'm no longer a ninja of this pathetic village. Ryoko, Shigeru, handle Iruka and then take the Hyuuga. I'll take care of this demon." Mizuki said. Both Ryoko and Shigeru nodded and were ready to engage Iruka.

"NO! I will not let you harm Naruto!" Iruka shouted and ran toward Naruto in order to protect him. But he couldn't reach him because he was kicked hard in the stomach and sent flying backwards. Iruka managed to land on his feet, then looked at his attacker.

"Sorry, but we are your opponents now." Shigeru said with a smirk.

_"I need to finish it quickly, if I want to help Naruto. Please, stay safe, I'll be by your side shortly."_ Iruka thought.

* * *

 _"I see. They want kidnap Hinata and Naruto to sell them to other hidden villages. Hinata because of her Byakugan, and Naruto because he is a jinchuuriki."_  Itachi thought. "I think it's time to intervene."

He was about to jump from his hiding spot when he suddenly felt large chakra spike.

_"What? Could it be Naruto? Maybe I should hide for a little while longer and see what happens."_

* * *

**-With Naruto-**

"Iruka!" Naruto shouted after Iruka was kicked. He was about to run to his brother figure when he was kicked by Mizuki.

"You're not going anywhere."

"Why, Mizuki! Why?" Naruto cried.

"Well, I suppose I could tell you. Do you know why villagers hate you?" Mizuki asked. When Naruto shook his head, he continued. "8 years ago, Kyuubi attacked our village. Many ninjas and civilians died that night. No one could stop the mad beast, but then the Yondaime Hokage appeared and gave everyone hope-"

"I already know that. Yondaime killed the Kyuubi, so get to the point already." Naruto shouted, his anger building.

"Impatient, huh? Well, you see - Kyuubi can't be killed because it's a creature of pure chakra. It can only be sealed. And Yondaime did it - he chose an orphan and sealed the beast inside it. It was you, Naruto. By becoming the host of Kyuubi, you became its reincarnation." Mizuki finished with victorious smirk when he saw Naruto's shocked face.

Naruto's eyes widened.  _"That makes sense. 'Demon brat' and just 'demon', kicked out of the orphanage and stores and the hateful glares, parents telling their children to stay away from me. All because of Kyuubi?"_ He then looked at Iruka, who was barely standing. He gritted his teeth  _"Well I don't care what villagers think. It's not my nor Kyuubi's fault if they can't see the difference between a kunai and the scroll it's sealed in. I'll show them I'm no 'demon'. There are people who care about me. I can't allow Mizuki to manipulate me! I will continue to protect them as I did so far by keeping Kyuubi in prison! And I am not its reincarnation!"_ Then he remembered something what Iruka once told him.

_Flashback._

"Naruto… being Hokage is not just about being acknowledged, but about protecting the village and your loved ones with your life and making life better for everyone. And you can become even more powerful if you have precious people to protect." Iruka said with a warm smile.

_Flashback end._

_**"Do you want to protect them?"**_ someone asked. Naruto wasn't dumb so he figured out that someone was speaking in his mind.

_"Huh?"_  He mentally asked.

_**"Do you want to protect Iruka and those kids here?"**_  the voice asked again.

From the corner of his eyes he saw how Iruka was being beaten. He didn't have a choice. _"I don't know who you are, but yes. 'Protect my precious people'. I don't know why I still love this village, but I will protect it with my last breath. I will become a Hokage and protect the village, and my precious people!"_  Naruto said with flames in his eyes, full of determination.

_**"Very well, I will give you the power to do so."**_  the voice said, and chuckled evilly.

When Mizuki saw the determination in Naruto's eyes, he became confused.  _"It should have broken him."_ "So will you-" He couldn't finish when he was thrown back by a chakra wave from Naruto. He felt a malevolent chakra and energy coming from Naruto. A chakra well known to him.  _"No! Did I free the Kyuubi?"_

* * *

**-With Iruka, Shigeru and Ryoko-**

Right after he landed, Iruka took 6 shuriken in each hand and threw them at Ryoko and Shigeru. He then did some handseals and shouted  **"Shuriken Kage bunshin no Jutsu"**  and then 6 shuriken became 50. Both Ryoko and Shigeru easily dodged them or deflected them with kunai, but they still received some scratches. But it was only for distraction, while both of them were evading shuriken, Iruka had already finished another set of hand seals and shouted  **"Doton: Rock Spike!"** _*2*_ **.** One large rock spike shot up from the earth, ready to impale Ryoko, but she managed to dodge at the last second, but still received a deep gash on her shoulder.

Shigeru saw that and quickly made handseals, put his fingers near his mouth and shouted  **"Katon: Fireball Jutsu!"** he then exhaled a medium sized fireball at Iruka. Iruka quickly dodged it only to receive a sharp punch in his gut and kick in a face from Ryoko. He stumbled back and when he stopped, he was ready to defend himself. He then heard a nice voice singing after which large plants with mouthz started to grow from the ground. After that, said plants rushed at Iruka, trying to swallow him.

_"What the fuck? Genjutsu?"_ He then dispelled the genjutsu, but it was too late, because he received a strong punch from Shigeru which sent him flying.  _"I think he broke my nose..."_

Ryoko took out a kunai and went for the kill.

Suddenly, the whole clearing was filled with malicious chakra and a shockwave threw them back a little.

* * *

Naruto didn't know what was happening. First, he felt anger, a lot of anger. Secondly, he felt bloodlust... he wanted to kill somebody and quickly. He looked up and around and saw Mizuki, the reason for his anger. Mizuki, meanwhile, watched Naruto with horror.

Red chakra started oozing out from Naruto and bubbling. A second red chakra cloak started covering his body, fox-like ears grew, replacing his ears and a tail formed around Naruto. His nails grew out a bit and became sharper. His hair became spikier and wilder than before. His whisker marks became more pronounced. His eyes turned red and his pupils turned into slits.

Then something happened.

In a blur he disappeared and reappeared in front of Mizuki, his hand ready to strike. Mizuki was too shocked to even move. Naruto pierced Mizuki's chest and heart making a hole and killed him instantly. Mizuki didn't have time to even scream in pain.

Naruto then took out his hand from the hole and blood started to spray out, covering him in it. Naruto then turned around and glared with his slitted eyes at Ryoko and Shigeru, who were shaking with fear.

**"You will not harm my precious people!"**  he roared and faster than a mere Genin could see, he launched himself at Shigeru.

Shigeru's shinobi senses kicked in and he managed to dodge a punch by jumping to the left and falling to the ground. Naruto was already on him, ready to pierce his heart like he did with Mizuki. Shigeru covered his head, ready to die.

Before Naruto could finish, he felt pain in his back. He turned around and saw Ryoko throwing shuriken at him from a safe distance. Naruto then let out a roar with another shockwave, knocking back all the shurikens which were already impaled in him and others that were alread sent flying towards him. Naruto then redirected his attention to Ryoko and started to run towards her. Meantime, Shigeru was trying to run away.

When Naruto reached Ryoko, he launched a punch at her face, which she quickly blocked with her arms. Thanks to Kyuubi's chakra cloak, Naruto burned Ryoko's arms, despite her blocking the punch. Naruto then quickly kicked her and she couldn't block it. She stumbled back and before she managed to push back the pain from the recent kick and burn, Naruto was already on her, impaling her chest. More blood spilled out from the hole and Ryoko fell down, lifeless.

Naruto then turned around for his last target, but couldn't find him.

_"_ _ **No! I must find him! I must find him and kill him or he will hurt more people! He will hurt more of my precious people if I do not KILL him!**_ _"_  Naruto nervously thought.

Then another large chakra wave erupted from Naruto. His eyes began to hurt. He started to scream. He didn't see his blue and silver chakra scome out of him and begin to swirl around, merging with the red one. He let out another painful scream.

"W-Wh-What's happening?" Iruka asked himself with fear in his eyes. Fear for Naruto.

* * *

 _"I have to intervene or this will turn ugly"_  Itachi thought worriedly and jumped out from his hiding spot.

"Are you alright, Iruka-san?" Itachi asked.

"A-ANBU? What are you doing here?"

"No time to explain. Can you wake up the kids and lead them to a safe location?

"Y-y-yes."

"Good. I'll take care of Naruto-kun." Itachi said, and when he saw the worry in Iruka's eyes, he smiled under his mask and said "Even in this state you're protective of him, right? Don't worry, I will not hurt him. I will just try to suppress the demon's chakra."

Little did he know what was happening in Naruto's mind.

* * *

**-Mindscape-**

It looked like some kind of sewer or underground bunker with various tunnels and pipes along the wall and ceiling. There was also water which could reach a human's ankle. In front were LARGE cage-like doors with a simple paper, with the word "Seal" in kanji instead of a keyhole.

Behind the cage sat the Nine-Tailed Fox, who was grinning like mad, enjoying the feeling of killing. It _*3*_  couldn't see, smell or feel anything outside of the cage because of the seal, but its chakra cloak on Naruto was allowing him to feel the outside world, even if it was for a little while.

So Kyuubi was laying there, enjoying the sensations, when suddenly blue and silver energy erupted at the end of the tunnel and rapidly went for a cage. Kyuubi saw that and started to feel a bit worried. The silver chakra felt familiar though, but it couldn't remember why.

_**"What the hell is happening? What is this chakra?"**_ he thought angrily.

While the blue and silver chakra was heading towards the cage, both energies started to merge together. After a second, the two chakras became one. It became silver with a blue tint to it.

When the chakra reached the cage, it suddenly stopped and started to form a figure. After some seconds, a tall, human figure stood in front of the cage. It looked like he was made of silver and blue flames. And it seemed like the figure was looking directly at the Kyuubi. Before Kyuubi could say anything, the chakra figure opened its eyes. Well, to be more precise those eyes just appeared on the figure.

But what shocked Kyuubi the most was what those eyes looked like: a ripple-like pattern around the pupil, with a light purple iris and scalera. Something felt very familiar about it.

**"What the fuck! Who the hell are you and what are you doing here?"** Kyuubi roared, demanding answers.

**"You will get your answers. But it is time to cure your unstable mind and bring you back. Also, it's time for him to awaken."** thefigure answered with a powerful yet calm voice. With that, he exploded and once again turned into a sea of silver chakra and tried to enclose Kyuubi.

Kyuubi fought back by producing as much chakra as possible, but because of the seal, it was limited in how much chakra it could create. Within a minute of chakra fighting, the silver one won and enclosed the Kyuubi. It(Kyuubi) was completely inside a large, filled in, silver chakra dome. After a minute, the silver chakra started to sink into the Kyuubi. Kyuubi let out a sharp roar of pain and tried to push back the silver chakra as much as possible, but to no avail. For a quick second, its eyes turned completely purple and then changed back. Now Kyuubi was radiating a orange-ish chakra. As quickly as everything started, it ended. Kyuubi panted heavily, exhausted.

_**"I... I now remember... everything. Oh Kami, what have I done? I need to speak to the kit as soon as possible. Thank Kami I was sealed inside him, or I would've never returned. So he is the one? So you were right after all, dad."**_ Kyuubi thought while smiling. It wasn't one of those maniac grins, it was a sincere, warm smile. Something, one would never expect from the king of demons.  _ **"I still have some chakra left, so use it well and kill that bastard who dared to take away your precious people, kit."**_

As the 'Battle in the Mindscape' finished up, Naruto's chakra cloak became bright orange, instead of crimson red, it also looked much calmer. Naruto didn't feel any negative emotions anymore, instead he felt... peaceful... like he finally found something he had been searching for, for ages... he felt like he was in a sanctuary now. Also, he was radiating the same calm aura, chakra, sensation, call it whatever you like, all across the clearing. This chakra was also affecting everyone unconscious - slowly, very slowly, the genjutsu, which was cast on the kids, began dispelling.

Then he opened his eyes. He was surprised. He could see so much further now and so much clearer. He could see various chakra signatures which nearby people radiated. He didn't know it, but his eyes had changed. His bright blue eyes had been replaced by a ripple-like pattern around the blue pupil, with a yellow iris and purple scalera. Around his pupils were two thin slits (like the Sharingan tomoe)*4*.

He looked around and saw Shigeru running away. Unconsciously, he focused on the retreating figure and channeled chakra to his right eye. Unknown to him, the two slits in his right eye started to spin. After a second, he saw a kanji for 'Mark' appear on man's back. The kanji glowed a bit. Now, somehow, Naruto knew just how far Shigeru was. Naruto then ran towards Shigeru at incredible speeds, reaching him in 5 seconds. Before Shigeru could react, he was impaled through his chest from behind. The last thing he saw, was a bloody hand sticking out from his chest, blood dripping on ground. He then fell to the ground, lifeless.

After that was done, Naruto returned to Iruka. He stiffened when he saw a man near him, but relaxed when he realized it was Konoha ANBU.

"Iruka-sensei, are you alright?" Naruto asked.

Both Itachi and Iruka stared at Naruto in awe and shock. Awe, because of his chakra cloak which radiated calmness, instead of malicious bloodlust and was bright orange instead of crimson red. Shock because of his eyes.

_"R-Rinnegan!"_  Itachi stuttered in his mind.  _"Impossible! He has the legendary Dojutsu? But it doesn't look like legends described. It should've been with a light purple iris and scalera and black pupil. Maybe it's evolved? Maybe that's what Hokage-sama meant..."_  he thought with awe.

Iruka had the same thoughts, but then he remembered his student asked him a question.

"Y-yeah, Naruto. I'm fine, thanks. You saved me here."

"Iruka-sensei... do you hate me? I mean... because of Kyuubi?" Naruto asked with worry.

"NO! Of course I don't hate you! You're like a little brother to me. And I can tell the difference between a beast and a human. You're completely human, Naruto, and I never hated you." Iruka said with a warm smile, forgetting about the changes in Naruto's eyes.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei! Thank you very much!" answered Naruto with a bright smile and a single tear falling from his eyes.

His eyes then turned back to his normal ocean blue and his orange chakra cloak disappeared. He then fell unconscious to the ground as the kids finally woke up.

When the kids woke up, the first thing they felt was calmness in the air and saw Naruto standing in an orange chakra cloak with fox-like ears and tail sticking out from it. Then they saw Naruto fall unconscious.

"Naruto!" Sasuke, Shikamaru and Choji shouted, worried for their friend. Little did they know said friend saved all of them from Kami knows what.

* * *

**-2 minutes before 'Battle in Mindscape'-**

**-Somewhere in Amegakure-**

**"Shinra Tensei"**  shouted Nagato, throwing Hanzo back with an invisible force. Hanzo stopped when he hit the wall of a nearby building. This fight was lasting for too long, Hanzo was already exhausted, and can barely stand.

_"Who the hell is this guy? And what's with those eyes? Any jutsu I throw at him, he just absorbs or repels."_ He thought with a scowl on his face.  _"How can I win. No... the right question is: CAN I win?"_

He couldn't waste anymore time thinking because he had to dodge paper shuriken. He then heard Nagato speaking.

"Your time has come to an end, you're already exhausted and I can still fight. Be honored, for you will be the first step towards a greater good. Your pain will be the first of many." Nagato calmly said, his voice void of emotion.

Before Hanzo could answer Nagato, he raised up his hand and said  **"Bansho Ten'in"** and the next thing Hanzo knew, he is pulled towards Nagato with an unknown force.

_"So this is it."_

When Hanzo finally reached Nagato, he was impaled by a black, long and sharp rod, piercing his heart and immediately killing him.

Just as Nagato did it, he quickly turned around and stared into the distance. Unknown to him, he was staring directly at Naruto as he awakened his Rinnengan.

A woman with blue hair and a paper flower in it approached Nagato and asked "Is something wrong?"

Nagato didn't answer for a minute, still staring. He then turned his eyes to Konan and said, "Nothing. I just felt something familiar. Let's go. We have to deal with those who were loyal to Hanzo. When that is done, I shall become a God and you will be my Angel."

"Yes, Nagato."

"From this moment onward, my name is Pein."

With that, both figures walked deeper in the town killing everyone in their path who were still loyal to Hanzo.

_"Soon, I shall bring peace to this tainted world, because I was chosen to do so."_


	2. Awakening

_Drip!_

_Drip!_

_Drip_! was the only thing Naruto heard when he woke up. He looked around and tried to figure out where he was. It looked like some kind of sewer or underground bunker with pipes running along the walls and ceiling. The place looked creepy.

"Where the hell am I?" Naruto asked himself. He tried to remember what happened and how he ended up here. Slowly, his memories came back to him.

"Oh that's right. Mizuki and those two attacked us, then someone spoke to me, then I felt some kind of power and then..." Naruto gasped "...oh no.. I.. I-I killed them. A-All of them... W-What have I done? Am I re-really a d-de-demon like everyone talks about?" Tears started to form in his eyes. "I-I need to find somebody. I-I need to find the exit."

He took a step and noticed there was water that reached his ankles. But it didn't make Naruto's feet wet. Creepy.

He was walking through various tunnels, trying to find an exit until he heard something. It sounded like breathing and snorting? Being a curious kid, Naruto walked towards the noises' direction. Plus, he hoped it will be someone who could help him.

After about 5 minutes he reached a dead end. Or so he thought. He was standing in front of huge cage-like doors which were held closed with a paper with kanji for 'seal' on it. In Naruto's opinion, it didn't look reliable enough to keep the door shut. And he couldn't see what was inside the cage, because it was pitch black in there. But the breathing was louder than 5 minutes ago.

Then, before Naruto could go into the cage, two large,red eyes with black slits snapped open. As the eyes opened, a bit of light came into the cage, revealing a huge fox laying inside. But what caught Naruto's attention were the nine tails which was calmly swinging behind the fox.

Naruto let out a scream, and backed away from the cage. He had read about Kyuubi, who attacked Konoha 8 years ago, and he knew what it looked like. But to be so close to it was a new experience for him. He was so frightened, he almost pissed his pants and he was gaping like a fish, afraid to say something or call for a help.

The Fox observed him with curious eyes until it became boring.

**"Don't worry kit, I won't hurt or eat you."**  Kyuubi said with a surprisingly calm voice for a demon.

"H-H-How I-I can b-be sure? You're a de-demon after all. A-And w-why are you h-here? Y-You should be de-dead." Naruto stuttered in fear, although in mind he was surprised  _"IT speaks!"_

**"HA! I can't be killed. I'm made of pure chakra and no mortal can kill me!"**  Kyuubi said with amusement.

"W-What? Then w-where are w-we? Is this some k-kind of d-dream? I-If you c-can't be killed, w-what happened to y-you 8 y-years ago?" Naruto asked. Little by little he was overcoming his fear and stuttering, seeing the demon is not going to kill him. Yet.

**"Too many questions, kit. But I will answer them. No, it's not a dream and we're in your mindscape which was created by the seal, which also put me here, in other words, we're in your mind. To answer your other question, although I can't be killed, I can be sealed using potent and strong seals."** Kyuubi answered and watched Naruto, hoping he will figure it out himself. Kyuubi knew Naruto is not as stupid as everyone thinks.

"My mind... can't be killed, only sealed... cage with a seal... voice in my head... villagers hate..." Naruto muttered and then he widened his eyes. "No... It can't be! You're sealed inside me?"

**"Yes, I'm sealed inside of you. I knew you would figure it out, by giving you obvious hints."**  fox answered with a grin, showing all its sharp teeth. It looked very intimidating.

"B-But why? Why did the Yondaime Hokage choose me out of all o-orphans?" Naruto asked, tears coming from his eyes, fear forgotten. He just wanted to know why Yondaime ruined his life.

_**"Should I tell him or not? Nahh, I'll tell him, better now than later. He needs to know the truth anyway. If I'll tell him now, he will be broken just for a week or two. If I'll tell him some other time, he will be broken twice."**_  Kyuubi thought.

"T-Tell me, why? W-Why me?"

**"He just couldn't ask another parent to sacrifice their child."**

"AND HE JUST CHOSE A RANDOM ORPHAN WITHOUT PARENTS?" Naruto yelled angrily, his voice full of fury and his eyes red from tears.

**"Yes and No. Yes, he chose you. No, he didn't choose, as you say, a random child. You're his son, kit. He chose his own son."**

"What? What are you talking about, fox?" Naruto asked. His anger and fury settled, and now confusion was in his voice. "I can't be Yondaime's son... It just sounds too good. I can't be the son of such an important person. It doesn't make any sense."

**"Yes, you are. Think about it. First, he chose his own newborn son, whose chakra coils didn't develop yet and so he (son) would be loyal to village after sealing. Secondly, before he died, he asked the village to see you as a hero, who keeps in me in prison. Of course he was an idiot, believing they will honor this kind of wish. Thirdly, he knew something dark was coming and this world needed a hero. Who else would be better for this role, than a kid with the strongest of bijuu sealed inside him and enormous chakra reserves?"**  Kyuubi answered with foxish smirk.  **"Lastly, you look just like him. Exact copy. Blue eyes, blond hair, the same face, only yours is a bit rounder than his."**

After thinking for a while, he admitted that it made sense. He remembered all the pictures of the Yondaime, and he admitted that the Yondaime looked just like him. He still needed to confirm it with ojiisan.

But now he couldn't hate the man. He sacrificed his life for the village, it was something that a true leader would do. And he asked the village to see Naruto as a hero. Something, Naruto had always wanted.

"I see. It makes sense now. But I will confirm it with ojiisan. I have to know if it's really true." Naruto said.

Kyuubi just nodded and waited for some more questions.

It was shocking to find out the lord of demons, Kyuubi no Yoko, was sealed inside him. It was more shocking to find out the man he admired the most, was his idol, was also his father, who sealed the said bijuu inside him. But he will think about it later.

"I'll think about everything later, when I will wake up. Can I ask some q-questions?" Naruto asked. Every time he looked at demon's eyes, he stuttered.

Kyuubi smiled... or grinned. Depends from which point of view one saw.

**"Of course, kit. We still have some time until you will wake up."**

"R-Right. I've read the Kyuubi is a malicious being, full of rage and hatred and kills everything it sees. But I don't feel anything evil from you. At all. Why?"

**"Well, it's simple. Your books lie."**

"Huh?"

Kyuubi sighed.  **"When I was created, along with 8 other bijuu, I was an intelligent creature. Our creator gave us a task and we were scattered about the elemental nations. Slowly, after thousands of years, the other bijuu went berserk because of the long time in the living world or because of unknown conditions. Bijuu are not stable creatures. I too was losing my mind. But then something happened and my mind was healed. So I lived like that for some thousand years. But one day, a man found me and used his kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, to tame me. Then everything went blank. He was VERY powerful if he could tame me. Next thing I knew, I was fighting another man, who could use Mokuton."**

Naruto was listening very carefully. In his opinion it was interesting to hear some history.

"Mokuton? You mean the Shodaime Hokage?"

**"Yes. Don't interrupt me anymore, kid!"**  Kyuubi growled. It really didn't like when someone interrupted it.  **"As I was saying, I was fighting a man with the Mokuton ability and he won the fight. When I was released from the Sharingan's effect, I fled from there as far as possible, my instincts said to do so. But I was unsuccessful. Shodaime found me and sealed me inside a woman. Being tamed by the Sharingan and then being sealed were key factors in losing my mind. It was the moment I lost all my clear thinking and acted only on instinct, rage and bloodlust. I was like a savage animal, like the books described me. Until now. I'm very lucky I was sealed inside you."**

To say Naruto was shocked was like saying the village loved him. To think Kyuubi was once an intelligent creature and was fighting with the Shodaime Hokage himself. And lost.

**"Any more questions so far?"**

After moment of thinking and overcoming his shock, Naruto asked, "If you were sealed, how did you break free and attack Konoha?"

**"8 years ago, a man with the Sharingan set me free from my previous host. The same eyes tamed me again and controlled me. The man ordered me to attack the village. After his control of me was gone, everything I saw was red. I was filled with rage and I was on a rampage. Unfortunately, I don't know any details on how was I freed or who my previous host was. And I'm sorry for attacking this village."**

"Okay, that explains why books say you're a malicious being. And don't apologize, it wasn't completely your fault. But why until now? What changed you? When you offered power, you sounded evil, but now you don't seem evil or malicious at all."

**"I had hoped you will me ask that. You see, when I was flooding you with my chakra, you were subconsciously mixing it with your own chakra and channeling it to your eyes in order to find the last man. You put so much strain on your eyes that you would have become blind, but you got lucky and instead of going blind, you awakened a dormant power. Your bloodline."**

"M-My bloodline? I have a bloodline?" Naruto asked, shock clearly evident in his voice.

Kyuubi scowled. Naruto interrupted it again.

**"Yes, your bloodline. Rinnegan. Don't ask any questions, I'll explain."**  Kyuubi said and thought how to explain it clearly, so Naruto could understand it  **"You don't have a normal Rinnegan though. It's a bit evolved. Also, you were gifted with special chakra, though I don't know why or how. Remember when you suddenly felt pain in your eyes and your whole body?"** After getting a nod from Naruto, Kyuubi continued  **"You were in pain because in here, your mindscape, your own chakra was mixing with a new chakra. When they finished mixing, this new chakra was fighting with me, trying to overcome me, while in real world three chakras were mixing together, which was successful. After your new chakra engulfed me, it started to heal my mind and placed various blocks so I wouldn't go berserk again.**   **As long as I'm sealed inside you I will not become a savage animal again. Plus, even if I get free of you, I will start losing my intelligence only after some thousands of years."** Kyuubi finished explaining.

Naruto widened his eyes. He was shocked and awed at the same time.

"Rinnegan? But I thought it was just a legend. How come  _I_  have it?" he asked, emphasizing the word 'I' as if it was something UN-fucking-believable.

**"In some way, it is a myth. You see, you don't get Rinnegan by blood. When dark times come and when the world is in danger, Kami herself chooses a human who will save the world, or do something else in the name of the better good, and who will wield the sacred eyes. The first human to ever wield the Rinnegan was Rikudou Sennin, my creator. Only one human in the world can have the Rinnegan. Seeing that you have a different one, I presume there is already someone with the original Rinnegan."**

If Naruto wasn't in his mindscape, he would have passed out from this kind of information. Kami chose him? Rinnegan? Rikudou Sennin created Kyuubi? It was too much for his poor brain.

"Wait, you said only one person can wield the Rinnegan and then you say there's someone else with these eyes. Can you explain that?"

**"I am not sure, but I presume the original Rinnegan wielder did something that could bring more disaster to this world. Like, he chose the wrong path, did something wrong or something along those lines. Remember this, kit, humans are not perfect and when given power, they will not always walk the correct path. But if Kami chose you, I will trust her judgment and help you."**

Naruto just nodded in understanding. He didn't know why, but he understood everything the Kyuubi was saying to him. He didn't have as many questions as most kids his age would have. Maybe it had something to do with this new Rinnegan? He didn't think too much about it.

"Umm, what do you mean by "helping" me?"

**"I will train you. Kit, Kami chose you and my mission is to train you."**

"Awesome! An overgrown fox with nine tails, who also happens to be a Lord of Demons, will train me! How awesome is that?" Naruto said, excited and all fear lost, bumping his fist into the air until he heard Kyuubi's growl.

**"Watch your mouth, kid. I'm not an overgrown** _**fox** _ **."**

"Umm, sorry." Naruto said with sheepish smile. "Oh, what do you mean by 'mission'?"

**"I will tell you later. Our time has come to an end. Do you have any other questions?"**

"Actually yes. How will you train me? I mean, do I always will have to come here to speak to you?"

**"I'm afraid so, yes, kit. The seal is very powerful and it will not allow me to speak to you, unless you're enraged. Next time when you come here, I will tell you your training schedule."**

"I see. Do you have a name or I will I always have to refer to you as Kyuubi? And are you male or female?" Naruto curiously asked. A Demon Lord  _should_  have a name or gender, at least he thought so.

Kyuubi let out a small chuckle  **"Yes, I have a name, but I will not tell it to you now. And I don't have a gender, I'm a being made from chakra and given intelligence and consciousness. Why?"**

"I guess you will tell me your name when you trust me more. And it's uncomfortable to refer to you as 'it'. From now on I will refer to you as 'he', okay?"

_**"So the new Rinnegan boosted his intelligence? I'm glad he found out I will tell him my name when I get to know him better. Still, it's surprising."**_  Kyuubi thought and answered  **"Sure, I don't care. Anything else?"**

"Yeah, last thing. How do I activate my Rinnegan?"

**"Well, you just channel chakra to your eyes and think 'Rinnegan'. I think that's how it works."**

"What do you mean by 'you think'?"

**"You see, the original Rinnegan has one con. Once it awakens, it cannot be deactivated and always stays on. But yours, somehow, is different. While you will rest outside, I will analyze the recent battle and try to find out the new abilities of** _ **your**_   **Rinnegan. Go on, try and activate it."** Kyuubi answered, emphasizing word 'your'.

"Umm. Kyuubi-sama. Ho-"

Before Naruto could finish, Kyuubi growled a bit,  **"Kid, don't -sama me. Just Kyuubi or Kyuubi-sensei. I hate all that honorifics stuff."**

Naruto was a bit surprised  _"And here I thought, the lord of the demons will demand respect. I guess not..."_  He thought and then continued, "Right. Kyuubi. So, I can channel chakra to my eyes the same way I channel it to my feet, right?"

Kyuubi rolled his eyes for such a stupid question.  **"Yes. The same concept. Try to close your eyes. Usually it helps when activating dojutsu for the first time."**

Naruto nodded and did as Kyuubi instructed. He closed his eyes, imagined the chakra in his body and how it flows to his eyes, when he felt it was enough he thought  _ **"Rinnegan!"**_ and quickly opened his eyes.

He gasped. It became much lighter now, as if they were outside, in a field on a sunny day. Then, with his Rinnegan, he looked at Kyuubi. Directly at his eyes.

Kyuubi's eyes widened when he saw the slits in  _both_ of Naruto's eyes begin to spin rapidly, and he knew something was going to happen. And it happened. He felt how a portion of his demonic chakra was being drawn out; it lasted for just 2 or 3 seconds. After that, he saw a ball of dark orange chakra floating in front of him. Then, the orange chakra quickly moved through the sealed gates and engulfed Naruto, who was sitting there as if nothing happened, his slits still spinning, and then was absorbed by him.

His Rinnegan stopped spinning, deactivated itself and Naruto snapped back to reality.

"What just happened? When I looked in your eyes, I passed out for some seconds."

Kyuubi, panting slightly, said  **"I don't know, kit... It looks you awakened a new ability. You just took a portion of my chakra and absorbed it. It wasn't much though, less than half of the one tail chakra amount."**

"But I didn't do anything. Will my Rinnegan always do stuff by itself?" Naruto asked. He just hoped he didn't make Kyuubi mad. He sighed in relief, when he didn't sense any anger from the demon.

**"No. I guess it will only happen when you awaken new abilities. Okay, our time has come to an end. We will meet again in the near future. Take care, kit."**  Kyuubi said and closed his eyes to go back to sleep, in order to regain all the strength he lost after the 'Battle in the Mindscape' and now.

Before Naruto could respond, bright light entered his mindscape and blinded him. He blinked a few times, and after the 4th blink he opened his eyes.

* * *

"Where am I  _now_?" Naruto asked himself as he stared at the white ceiling.

"You're in the hospital, Naruto." someone said. "How do you feel?"

Naruto turned his head and saw someone who he thinks of as grandfather.

"Ojiisan!" Naruto almost shouted in excitement. "I'm okay, I guess. What happened and how long have I been here?"

"Well, to answer your second question, you've been out for two days." the old Hokage answered.

"WHAT? TWO DAYS?" Naruto shouted. "What the hell! Why so long?"

"For some reason you had slight chakra exhaustion, as well as... blindness. Even so, for  _you_ it is a long time. And to answer your first question, that's what I would want to know. Can you tell me what happened?" He asked.

"Blindness? Was it because of my ...?" Naruto muttered. Hokage couldn't hear the last word though. "Yeah, I can tell you what happened from what I remember." Hokage nodded, telling him to continue. "We arrived at this awesome field in the forest. It was really beautiful. Then, we set up our tents, we made campfire and then we had some free time before Iruka-sensei would start his lecture. When he started, I suddenly felt very tired and wanted to sleep, but I somehow resisted it. I saw how the others were falling asleep. Then Mizuki appeared with someone. There was Mizuki, one more man and a woman. I didn't recognize which village they were from, but I remembered their hitai-ate. There was musical note on it. After that, they split up - the two strangers went for Iruka-sensei and Mizuki approached me."

_"A note? I don't remember such a village... Maybe a new one?"_ Hiruzen thought. "I see. What happened next?"

Naruto thought a bit, whether tell him or not. He decided to tell him, he trusted the old Hokage after all and he didn't want to lie to him.

"Ojiisan, promise you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. Promise or I will leave this village." Naruto said with serious expression.

Hiruzen was a bit shocked at such a statement. "I promise. But would you really leave? And I doubt you  _could_  do that."

Naruto just grinned. "Well, if I can escape ANBU after my pranks, escaping the village wouldn't be that hard, would it?"

The old Hokage looked at Naruto with amusement. But it was true, if Naruto could escape ANBU, then leaving village wouldn't be that hard either. "You're right, it wouldn't be that hard. But would you do it?"

"Of course not. I just said that so you would promise and realize how serious what I'm about to say is. Even after everything this village did to me, this is still my home and I love it." Naruto said with a bright smile.

ANBU, which were hiding nearby and guarding the Hokage, sweatdropped.  _"This kid..."_

"You're very sneaky, you know that?" Hiruzen said with a sigh.

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Oh, and place a privacy seal a round the room and tell your ANBU to leave."

Now both ANBU in the area and the Hokage were surprised. They were surprised because some first year academy brat could sense them, although they had suppressed and masked their chakra.

Overcoming his shock, the Hokage asked, "I don't even know how you sensed the ANBU, but I believe it's something to do with what you're gonna tell me, right?" After receiving a nod, he continued, "Is it so important?"

Naruto's face was very serious, and he had that face only when something really serious happened. "Yes, it is. Besides, I completely trust you, but not ANBU. I don't want any rumors to spread."

After thinking a bit, Hiruzen nodded and signaled the ANBU to leave. After a second, the tension in the air was lighter.

"Ojiisan, there, in the corner," he pointed at the far right corner of the room "is one more ANBU. I told you, I  _can_  sense their chakra."

Once again, the Hokage was surprised, but he just lifted his hand, signaling the last ANBU to leave. Then he made some hand seals and room walls flashed blue, before returning to normal, indicating that the privacy seal was now set.

"Now tell me, what was so important that happened?" Hokage asked gently.

"Right. When Mizuki approached me, he started to talk some nonsense. Then, I saw how Iruka-sensei was being beaten and how everyone was laying there, helpless. It appeared Mizuki was after me and Hinata for some reason. When I heard that, I was very angry and then someone offered me power... and I accepted it. Suddenly I started feeling angrier and my body moved by instinct. I... I-I k-killed Mizuki with a stab from my hand to his heart. A-And then I-I killed that w-woman." Naruto answered, tears forming in his eyes. He had killed three people that day. "A-Am I a mindless k-ki-killer? Am I really the d-demon ev-everyone talks a-about?"

Hiruzen, again, was a bit shocked when he heard about someone talking in Naruto's mind and offering him power.  _"Kyuubi... And those damn villagers, still calling him names, even after I forbade it..."_ he thought with a scowl on his face. Hiruzen then calmly asked "Tell me, Naruto. Why did you kill them?"

Naruto looked at Hokage with teary eyes and said "To protect my friends, of course. When I saw my classmates laying there, and Iruka being beaten, I remembered how Iruka-sensei once said to me  _'you can become even more powerful if you have precious people to protect'._ That's why accepted that power in the first place."

"I see. Now tell me, did you enjoy killing?" Hiruzen asked.

"I-I don't know. I mean, I felt nothing when I killed them, but after my small frenzy disappeared, I realized what I did. It was h-horrible. I killed so-someone. I ki-killed my se-sensei..." Naruto answered with small sobs in the end.

The Hokage put his hands on Naruto's shoulders gently, with a warm smile, which showed how much he cared for Naruto, said "Don't cry, Naruto. You did the right thing. Mizuki betrayed us and our village. He wanted to hurt your friends and classmates, as well as Iruka. Kami knows what would have happened if you hadn't been there. The most important thing was that you didn't enjoy it and that you felt sorry for the actions you had to perform. It means you won't become a mindless killer. You also did it for the right reasons. But remember, when you become a ninja and go on missions, you will have to kill in order to complete the mission. Just remember, you do it for right reasons."

Naruto's sobs became quieter and he hugged the Hokage "T-Thanks, ojiisan. Your words mean a lot to me."

"No problem, Naruto. Remember that I will always support you. But I believe your story doesn't end like that... there's something more to it, right? You didn't tell me what happened to the third person."

"Right. After I k-killed the woman, I..."

And so he told the Hokage everything that happened. Including his new bloodline and Kyuubi, though he didn't mention that Kyuubi told him who his father was. After Naruto finished retelling what happened, old Sarutobi sat there silently, staring at Naruto stupidly and blankly for about one or two minutes. Then...

"WHAT?" shouted Hokage. "So let me get this straight. You heard Kyuubi, it was evil and you accepted its power. Then you got new chakra and it mixes with your own. Then your new chakra heals Kyuubi's mind and it happens that Kyuubi is not evil... After that you find out that you have  _THE_  Rinnegan, and shoud I mention, an  _evolved_  one, because you've been chosen by Kami to help this world, or so the Kyuubi says. Then Kyuubi offers to train you because of some unknown  _mission._ After that, you activate your Rinnegan in your mindscape and something happens. Am I right so far?"

Naruto sheepishly smiled and rubbed back of his head in embarrassment. "Yeah, that's pretty much what happened."

"I need sake. I'm getting too old for this..." the Hokage muttered. "Can you show me?"

Understanding what the ojiisan wants, Naruto closed his eyes, channeled some chakra to his eyes and thought  _ **"Rinnegan!"**_ and then opened his eyes, showing the Hokage his Rinnegan with two slits around his pupils.

While Hiruzen stared at Naruto's Rinnegan with an opened mouth, Naruto examined his surroundings. He couldn't believe how well he could see, he could see everything in much better detail. Naruto then saw flower pots near the window, which was at the end of the room, and tried to focus on the leaf. Slowly, he could see more and more detail on the leaf - two drops of water from the morning dew, green veins running along the leaf. After 2 seconds he could also see a small dust layer on the leaf and a small bug running there. He then lost his concentration when the Hokage called for him.

"Naruto... Your right eyes' slits are slowly spinning. What are you doing?"

"Huh? Oh, I was focusing on the flower over there." He then pointed at the flower, "After some seconds I could see almost all the details on the leaf, even the dust and a small bug. And you said my right eye? I think my right eye gives me the ability to see further. Maybe there's something more to it. I hope Kyuubi will find out." Naruto finished and deactivated his Rinnegan just by stopping the flow of chakra to his eyes. Somehow, it was easier to manipulate chakra in his body than it was before when he did tree walking.

"Right. I don't really like the idea of you being trained by Kyuubi or talking with him, but I will trust you. Itachi, the ANBU who was watching you, said that your chakra cloak changed and wasn't radiating anymore bloodlust. Your story explains why. So I will trust you." Hokage said.

"Umm, if you already knew everything, why did you ask?" Naruto asked, curious. Then he got it. "Oh, wait. Don't answer. You asked because you wanted to see how everything happened from my point of view and to fill in some holes from Itachi-san's report, right?"

"That is correct, Naruto. I'm impressed. One week ago you couldn't get it so fast." Hokage replied.

"I think it has something to do with my Rinnegan. When I found out Kyuubi was sealed inside me, I wasn't so sad about it as I thought I would be. I just accepted it. In my opinion, the Rinnegan somehow boosted my intelligence, though I'm not sure. I still need some time to think about everything Kyuubi said to me." Naruto said.

"I see. Then I will leave you. I have to return to my duties. You will stay here for 2 more days and then return back to the academy." Hokage said as he stood up. "Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. I approve of this training, but when you become a genin, you will show me your skill and what you've learned. Understood?"

"Yes, ojiisan. See ya later." Naruto said as he laid back in bed and went to sleep.

The Hokage just smiled and left the hospital, returning to the tower to resume his duties. To be more precise, to be tortured by damn paperwork. Again.

* * *

**-Village, somewhere near Kaminari no Kuni borderland-**

It was deep night in a small village near Kaminari no Kuni (Lightning country) borderland. The full moon shone in all its glory, illuminating lone streets with its mysterious light. You could hear some wolf pack, hidden near the forest's shadows, howling at the moon and ready to hunt their unsuspecting prey. Most of the villagers were already asleep, their homes embraced in darkness, dreaming about various things. Though some houses still had their lights on.

And one of these houses was the Tsukiko clan's main building.

The Tsukiko clan was a very ancient clan with a very rare bloodline and summoning contract. Why were they rare? Because only once in 400-500 years a single member of clan can awaken their ancient bloodline and only this one person can sign their sacred summoning contract. The bloodline was very strong, so strong it could cease wars or heal injuries; it could summon souls to aid allies, or rain death on their enemies. In order to awaken the bloodline, one needed to meet various conditions. One may think that one of these conditions is high emotional or physical pain, but that's not true. At least, not completely. The condition is unknown. Each member who ever awakened the bloodline did it in different ways - one suffered emotional pain, the other suffered high physical pain while someone else got it out of the blue.

But the last member, who had this bloodline, died 1500 years ago. No one knows why the bloodline had suddenly disappeared, but it is the reason why this clan is now extinct. The last two members of this clan, a girl and her grandfather remain on their sacred ground, in their home; their village which they built. It was a rather small village too.

They say the bloodline has disappeared, that it's nothing but a myth. But they are wrong. The ancient power is going to be awakened again. By the sole survivor of the said clan.

The main clan hall was lit by many candles on the walls. The room wasn't bright, but it was enough too see. This room was sacred and was used only in important clan events, like meetings and deciding clan or clan members' fates. And today, or rather tonight, was an important event for one girl.

In the middle of the hall was a large bed, surrounded by candles. In the bed laid an old man, covered with silver colored blankets. He had short grey hair, and his face had many wrinkles, indicating his old age. It looked like he was in his early 70s, but he looked sick and... dying.

Near the old man, next to the bed, was a young girl. She had a beautiful face - narrow eyebrows, deep brown eyes with black pupils, a small but beautiful nose and thin lips. She had long, light brown hair, which reached a bit past her shoulder blades and bangs hanging down on either side of her face to frame her beautiful face. Although she was only 9 years old, she was beautiful. The girl was on her knees, her face buried in her palm, crying. Why is she crying? Because her only relative, her grandfather will die within some minutes.

"Alice-chan," the old man addressed her granddaughter with weak voice "why are you crying?"

Alice, whose full name was Alicia Tsukiko, lifted her head, showing her red cheeks and eyes, answered with sorrow and anger. Sorrow for obvious reason, but anger for such a stupid question, "Why am I crying? How could I not when all my clan and family has died and you're the only one left. How could I not cry when you're going to die too and I'll be left all alone?" she finished and buried her face in her palms again and started to cry louder, no longer capable of keeping it in.

"I'm old, Alice-chan. You should know members of our clan usually die about this age." the old man said, then he paused as if thinking about something. After minute of silence (except Alicia's crying) the old man continued as serious as he could in his condition "Listen, Alicia. Do you know the prophecy of our clan?"

Alicia lifted her head, hearing how serious her ojiisan was. She just nodded; She knew about the prophecy from the age of six. The man then continued.

"I believe with all my heart the prophecy is about you, Alice-chan..." the man coughed several times.

"B-but it's just that, a prophecy. It is as good as a myth." she countered.

"Alicia!" the old man sternly said. "Listen carefully. I believe in you. You heard me? I. Believe. In. You." he said, emphasizing each his word, "Even if you will do not awaken it, I believe you will do as the prophecy says, because that is my last wish." seeing his granddaughter's widened eyes, he reached into his pocket in his pants, and took out a key. It looked really old and it had some kind of wing-like pattern on it's bow. "Here, take this key. Just in case you're the one. You know where the sacred chamber is." he said as he gave Alicia the key, which she accepted with trembling hands. He continued "From now on, you're heir and sole survivor to our clan. Good luck, Alicia. I love you."

More tears started to form in girl's eyes. She squeezed the key and put her hands on her chest, where heart should be, as if it was the dearest thing left for her.

"T-Thank y-you, ojiisan. I will d-do as y-you ask. I l-l-love y-you t-t-too," she said as she hugged her grandfather for last time. When she let him go, she saw him smiling and ... glowing.

"Thank you. Be the val*cough*kyrie like some of our predecessors were." he quietly said, as he was engulfed in yellow and white light and slowly started to evaporate. Although when someone dies it is sad, but it was beautiful. In five or six seconds, he was gone. Dead.

But Alicia knew better. Her clan didn't just die, and the way they died is not normal on it's own. When the person in their clan dies, they connect with nature around, as if they were creations of nature themselves.

When the last particle of her deceased grandfather disappeared, she was broken, but at the same time you could see the strong determination in her eyes.

"I won't let you down, ojiisan!" she said quietly.

Light started to form around her, but she didn't notice it.

"I will fulfill your wish and heal this world!" she said louder, her voice full of determination, still oblivious to the sudden light around her, which was getting bigger and brighter.

Suddenly she stood up and as if trying to convince someone, shouted "FOR I AM ALICIA TSUKIKO, HEIR TO THE TSUKIKO CLAN AND ITS LAST MEMBER!"

After those words were spoken, she noticed the light around herself. She gasped, but it was too late. The light flared, illuminating all the village through compound's windows, making the night as light as the day. It kept for some seconds, then the light died down.

After the light was gone, Alicia stood there for some seconds, her eyes wide in shock, after which she fel, uncoscious. But something had changed though - her hair changed from light brown to light blonde and was now reaching down to her lower back.

Some of the villagers who were still awake saw the flare, and thought with awe,

_"The valkyrie is born."_

* * *

**-Alicia's dream-**

She was... flying or floating above the village. The village was huge and almost all the population looked happy. Why almost? Because there was one place which was filled with some kind of grey aura. The aura itself radiated hate.

When she looked closely at that part of the village, she saw a six year old blonde boy walking on the street. What caught her attention was his shadow - it had nine tendrils, which looked like tails. The boy himself radiated a calm and bright aura, while the civilians around him radiated hate and the grey aura towards him. One of the civilians even took a tomato and wanted to throw it at the boy, but was stopped by another civilian who whispered something to the first one.

Although it was just a whisper, and Alicia was very far from there, she could hear what he said.  _"Don't anger the demon!"_

Then she saw how everything started losing color wherever the blonde kid went, various insults thrown his way.

_"Demon!"_

_"Scum!"_

_"Kyuubi brat!"_

_"Get away from here!"_

_"Why can't you just die?"_

These were the most often used ones. But despite everything, the kid was smiling and radiating that small aura. And so she watched how the day went for the boy.

When the day was finished, and the boy went to sleep, Alicia was amazed how he kept going after everything the village did to him. She also pitied him.

_"Poor kid. He is no older than six or seven, and he has to endure so much. How can he keep going on after everything? He doesn't even have friends. How can he smile? Could I do the same?"_  she thought, awed at the boy.

Then, the scene changed. She was floating(once again) above a large crater. There were many holes around, some large water puddles. She also saw mountains and forests in the background, but what terrified her the most was HUGE monster standing there. By huge, she meant huge like a mountain. She couldn't see  _any_ details of the monster, only it's red eyes, which seemed familiar. She then looked below the monster and gasped. There, not very far away from the monster, stood the same boy from before, but this time he had nine red tails with orange tips swinging behind him. The boy turned and lifted his head and looked directly into Alicia's eyes. She gasped. His eyes were like she had never seen before - ripple-like pattern around the blue slitted pupil with a red iris and purple scalera, it also had three white tomoe around the pupil. Then she noticed the boy had some kind of crimson red pigment round his eyes.

The monster let out a demonic and monstrous roar. Alicia screamed for him to run, but to no avail. Her warnings and screaming were silent. She then saw how the boy closed his eyes and how a single tear fell down.

The monster then shot a large stream of black and purple flame at the boy, engulfing him. When the fire died down, she saw no one there. Only a burning crater.

Alicia started to cry for boy's fate. It was so cruel.

* * *

Alicia woke up in a cold sweat, panting, as if she had seen her worst nightmare. Well, she kind of  _did_  see a nightmare.

_"Who was that boy?"_  she thought.  _"It looked & felt so... real."_

Then, the pain returned to her body and once again, she was unconscious.

* * *

**-Naruto's dream-**

At the same time, Naruto was dreaming a very familiar dream. It was a usual day when he was six years old, but this time he felt something unnatural. As if someone was watching him. But he paid it no attention, thinking it was the villagers.

After he went to sleep, the scene changed. Now he was standing in large crater-like clearing, alone... facing a HUGE monster. He couldn't see any details of it, only its eyes. They were red with some kind of lines in them. It looked dead familiar.

He then felt, again, someone watching him, from above. He knew it wasn't civilians this time, because no one was around. He turned and lifted his head up and saw a girl no older than 9 or 10. He saw her long hair and her deep brown eyes along with rest of her face.

_"Beautiful"_  he thought. And then he heard he monster's roar. He knew this was the end. He saw how the girl was trying to say something; he saw how she was trying to scream, but to no avail. "Probably wishing me a slow death, like everyone else."

He then closed his eyes and felt how a single tear left his eye, as he remembered his life. Then, without pain or anything, he felt dead.

* * *

Naruto woke up in a cold sweat, panting. This was a horrible nightmare.

_"Who was that girl? And the monster?..."_  he thought,  _"It looked so...real."_

Then, he just turned around and went back to sleep, seeing it was still night and hoping he won't see the nightmare again.

* * *

**-Somewhere in an unearthly place-**

It looked like endless darkness, filled with millions and millions of white dots, representing stars. You could also see a large globe, representing Earth itself.

There was a woman of godly beauty, with long white hair, which seemed to glow, reaching her ankles. She had on a long, white dress which went past her feet. Said woman was radiating unworldly light around her.

She was overlooking the Earth. A smile appeared on her face, as she said, her voice sounding like double echo  **"This is the last time I intervene, Naruto, Alicia. For I believe I made the right choice and you won't make mistakes like the last ones."**

That said, she disappeared in a white flash.

* * *

It has been a week since Naruto left the hospital. He now continues to go to the academy. On the first day of school after his discharge from the hospital, it was like hell to him. He received so much attention. Everyone was asking him questions about the incident, like: what happened there, why didn't he fall under the genjutsu, etc. He had to lie, saying that he didn't remember much and that everything was like looking through fog, but some kids (Shik*cough*ama*cough*ru, Sas*cough*uke) knew he was lying, but decided not to press him on the matter. At least, for now.

After that first day, class settled down, and then everything was like always - boring lectures, Iruka's shouting, Sasuke's fangirls...

And he still didn't contact the fox to talk about the training.

Now, it was a peaceful Friday afternoon. The sun was shining, birds were chirping and other peaceful stuff was happening. Naruto was in the academy, sitting in his spot and daydreaming.

_"I wonder why I can't enter my mindscape now?"_  Naruto thought  _"I hope that damn fox didn't lie about the training. I haven't heard anything from him for a week now."_

Suddenly a voice rang in his head  **"Hey, kit. You miss me?"**

Naruto was so surprised,he yelped. His classmates gave him a funny look, and Iruka asked him, "Naruto... are you alright?"

Quickly regaining his composure, he sheepishly answered "Hai, Iruka-sensei. I was daydreaming and had a bad dream..."

"Okay... don't sleep in class, Naruto." Iruka admonished, and returned to his lecture.

After that, Naruto pretended to listen to the lecture, but in reality, he was having a chat with his inner fox.

_"How can you talk with me? You said it's impossible to communicate outside the mindscape."_  Naruto mentally said.

**"Long story short - when you activated your Rinnegan in the mindscape and absorbed part of my chakra, several things happened to you. One of them is that we now have a mental link between each other and we can talk. About other things I will tell you tonight, in your mindscape. We will also discuss your training."**  Kyuubi answered.

Naruto grinned, when he heard about training. Finally.

_"Okay then. See ya later."_

* * *

**-That night, in Naruto's mindscape-**

**"Before I tell you your training schedule, Let me tell you about several things that happened to you when you absorbed my chakra with your dojutsu."**

When Naruto nodded and sat on the wet floor (it's not like he felt the water anyway), Kyuubi continued,

**"You may think the chakra you absorbed increased your chakra reserves, but that's not true. First of all, it somehow created a mental link between us. This means we can now communicate with each other when we want, and also I can smell, see and hear what you can. Secondly, it somehow changed your body. No-"**

Kyuubi was interrupted by a shouting Naruto, "What do you mean 'changed your body'? I will look different now? What the hell? I-"

And now Naruto was interrupted by the growling Kyuubi.  **"Stop interrupting me when I'm talking, brat. It's annoying. Next time listen to what I have to say before asking questions, or I will ignore you for some months. Is that clear?"**

Naruto gulped and quickly nodded. "Sorry, Kyuubi-sensei."

Kyuubi merely nodded and continued  **"As I was saying, nothing major. I looked into your body and saw some slight changes. According to what I've seen, your hair will now grow faster, you will receive back all the nutrition you've lost, meaning you will grow how you should have. By that I mean, you're a midget now because you eat only ramen. You body doesn't get any required minerals for growth, that's why you're smaller than others. But it shouldn't be a problem now, just don't forget to eat healthy food. Also, your eyesight will be a bit better now to adjust to your dojutsu. That's everything I could find out. Any questions so far?"**

When Naruto received permission to ask questions, he asked "Does that mean I will grow faster than others and won't be that small anymore?"

Kyuubi rolled his eyes. Wasn't that what he said just now?  **"No, you will not grow faster than others, your growth rate has returned to how it** _ **should**_ **have been. Yes, you won't be a midget anymore."**

"Yatta! Okay then, what about training?" Naruto asked happily.

**"Very well. Now listen carefully. For the next week, after the academy, you will go to any free training ground. There, you will continue to master chakra control. Your Rinnegan allows you to control your chakra more easily, more smoothly, so it shouldn't be hard to master water walking in 3 days. Also, I will teach you Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, which will** **_greatly_ ** **increase your training speed and effectiveness. After you master Kage Bunshin, I will tell you your training schedule for the next 5 years. Questions?"**

"Umm. How will a Bunshin increase my training speed? And why only for 5 years?" Naruto asked suspiciously. "It can't be true that simple Bunshin can do something like that. If it could, why has one used it?

Kyuubi just grinned, showing all its sharp and pointy teeth.  **"You see, Kage Bunshin is not just a** _ **simple**_ **Bunshin technique. And I believe you are the only one who can effectively use it for training purposes. I will tell you more when I will start teaching it to you. Also, I recommend you spend the weekend finding and buying a simple training sword. It's for your training as well. Now, do as I said. If you get stuck in your water walking, I will give you some pointers, although I believe you will not need them. As to why for 5 years. Well, that's simple. After 5 years you will have become a genin and you won't have much time for training. It doesn't mean you won't get any training at all. After a week, I will wait for you here, in your mindscape. Take care, kit."**

Before Naruto could ask or say something, he was pulled out from his mindscape by invisible force.

* * *

**-Next day, Hokage office-**

"Hey, ojiisan!" Naruto shouted as he entered the Hokage's office by kicking the door open.

Sarutobi sweatdropped. "Hello, Naruto-kun. I see you're quite enthusiastic today. Care to explain what happened?" he said as he gestured at Naruto to take a seat.

"Well, yeah. I will finally start my training. Also, I found out something... interesting." Naruto said, entering his 'Serious mode'.

The old Hokage raised an eyebrow and asked "Hmm? Well, before you tell me what you found out, mind explaining what sort of training you will be doing?"

_**"Don't tell him about the Kage Bunshin."**_  Kyuubi said, within his mind.

_"Huh? Kyuubi? I thought you were sleeping. And why shouldn't I tell him?"_

Naruto could feel Kyuubi rolling his eyes  _ **"I'm don't sleep day'n'night and wake up only when you come here. I sleep like all humans do. It's strange though, me, a demon sleeping like a human... hmpf."**_ Kyuubi said with a small scowl. And then he remembered the other question.  _ **"Uhh, right. Don't tell him because Kage Bunshin is Kinjutsu."**_

_"Kinjutsu? Wow. You will teach me a kinjutsu?! Am I that awesome?"_  Naruto asked, stars in his eyes.

_**"Yeah, right. Your awesomeness is so great, it sometimes even blinds me."**_  Kyuubi said with sarcasm,  _ **"Anyway, I'll explain later, as promised. And I keep my promises."**_

With that said, Naruto could feel how Kyuubi disappeared from his mind. Everything happened in less than minute and Sarutobi was still waiting for an answer. He even looked a bit worried.

"Naruto-kun, are you alright? I could swear I saw some sparkling stars in your eyes." He said, with amused tone.

"Huh? Oh, sorry, ojiisan. I just remembered what  _someone_  said about my training and I got excited." Naruto answered, emphasizing word 'someone'. He knew there were ANBU listening and guarding the Hokage and he didn't want them to hear about the Kyuubi.

The Hokage understood Naruto meant Kyuubi by 'someone'. "So, what is your training?"

"Well, for the next week I have to master tree and water walking, after that my sensei will give me a training schedule for the next 5 years." Naruto answered with a smile.

"Hmm? Interesting. And why only 5 years?" Hokage curiously asked.

"Because after 5 years, when I'm 13, I will become a genin and I won't have much time for training." Naruto answered honestly. He really hoped it wouldn't be that bad and there will still be time for training. Yeah. Naruto thinks only about training. No social life whatsoever.

"Fair enough. So, what was it that you found out?"

Naruto then regained his serious composure and looked around the room. Then he found what he was searching for - a picture of Yondaime, his father, hanging on the right wall. There were also the pictures of the Shodaime, the Nidaime and Sandaime. He walked closer to it and inspected the picture of his father.

When Sarutobi saw where Naruto was looking and what he was inspecting, sweat bullets appeared on his face, but he tried to look as calm as possible and waited.

_"I hope it's not exactly what he found out."_ he nervously thought.

Naruto then took the picture of the Yondaime from the wall, turned to the Hokage and held it next to his face so both faces were next to each other.

"Care to explain?" He seriously asked.

Hokage widened his eyes, and then returned to normal.

"How long?" He asked.

"Since the incident." Naruto honestly answered, indicating who exactly told him such information. "It's true, isn't it?" When he received a slow nod from the Hokage, he continued "I can't understand how I didn't notice it earlier. All the villagers can't or don't want to notice it either. The same golden blonde, spiky hair, same ocean blue eyes, almost the same facial structure, mine being a bit rounder. Hate indeed blinds people." He let out a sigh and placed the picture back in its place. "Just one more question. Is it true that my father wanted me to be seen as a hero, as athe jailer to Kyuubi?"

Sarutobi also sighed and nodded. "Yes. That's true. Unfortunately, these damn villagers won't respect his wishes." he answered, leaking out a bit of killing intent in frustration. When he stopped leaking it, he continued. "Seriously... Everyone loved the Yondaime, but they don't respect his wishes, nor do they believe in his sealing skills. How far has this village fallen?" He finished by asking the rhetorical question to himself.

Naruto just smiled and answered "It doesn't matter how far it's fallen. If my father's last wish was for me to be seen as a hero, then so be it! I will try my hardest to prove I'm not Kyuubi's incarnation and will help this village to regain its Will of Fire! One way or another, it doesn't matter. That's a promise." He said, his voice and eyes full of determination, a warm and calming aura leaking from him, as he spoke his words, making everyone present in the room feel some warmth and peace, making them believe in the blonde.

The Hokage looked at Naruto with a proud smile. Even after everything the village did to him, he still wanted to prove himself.

_"Naruto's Will of Fire burns brightly and I believe sooner or later he will pass it onto the village."_  the Hokage thought.

* * *

**-The ANBU in the room-**

When Naruto took the picture and turned to the Hokage, the ANBU were a bit confused at why he did that. When Naruto spoke and pointed how how similar they were, it hit them like a ton of bricks.

_"No way! That brat is Yondaime-sama's son?"_  one of them thought with shocked eyes. It's not like anyone noticed it anyway, he had a mask on.

_"He... He is sensei's son? Hmm... If you think about it, they look similar. Way too similar."_  the Dog mask wearing ANBU thought. It was none other than Hatake Kakashi.

When the Hokage confirmed it, they almost all fell from their hiding spots. Everyone had similar thoughts:

_"No way! They are indeed similar. And to think that no one noticed it..."_

When Naruto began his little speech, all of them felt awe and growing respect for the blonde (the calming aura doing part of the job *wink* ). All of them started to change their opinion about him. He was indeed strong willed.

* * *

"I'm so proud of you, Naruto. I truly believe you will succeed. Now, is there something else?" The Hokage asked.

Naruto smiled and answered "Thanks, ojiisan. Yes, there's actually one more thing I wanted to ask. Can you give any suggestions on a weapon shop where I can buy a training sword without the tripled prices?"

The Hokage raised an eyebrow and asked him to elaborate on what he meant.

"Huh? Didn't you know? Almost every grocery store either kicks me out or triples the prices for me, saying 'we don't sell to demons'. And those that do let me in just sell me rotten food. Have you never wondered why I'm smaller than others?" Naruto asked in amused tone. Really, THE Hokage had no idea about what happens in HIS village.

When the Hokage heard this, his killer intent leaked out to the whole village. Some civilians started to sweat a bit, knowing there was trouble coming their way.

When Sarutobi calmed down, he said "Come, Naruto. Let's pay a visit some soon-to-bankrupt grocery stores. Then I will also show you a weapon shop where I'm sure you will be  _welcomed_."

With that, both of them left the office and Naruto had a mischievous smile.

Also, the Hokage really was getting old. He was completely distracted by Naruto's knowledge about his father and totally forgot about the ANBU who were in his office and heard everything. Let's just say, Naruto will now have a bit more protectors and rumors will start to spread. . .

* * *

**-Time skip, 1 week-**

A week has since passed and Naruto felt great. That day when he and Sarutobi visited some grocery stores, his life became a bit more easier. Why? Because the old Hokage threatened the shop owners - if they ever sold rotten food for tripled price again, they will 'mysteriously' become bankrupt. And if Naruto was not treated like any other paying customer, not only will they become 'mysteriously' bankrupt, all their money will go to Naruto's account for emotional and physical compensation for all the things they did to him. Now all the groceries stores were nicer to him, although he still noticed the hateful glares.

Also, he noticed how some citizens, to be precise - high ranking shinobi, like jounins, were looking at him. Those weren't hateful glares, but instead the look of realization and... respect? Those were very, very few and Naruto couldn't figure out the reason for those looks.

Within a week Naruto had mastered both tree and water walking. Actually, he mastered both of them in two days. He was surprised how easily he did that. Kyuubi told him that Naruto was talented at chakra control, despite its difficult and his new dojutsu just increased that control. The rest of the 5 days he spent increasing his chakra control, thereby increasing his chakra amount as well, also doing more physical workouts. His hair did grow a bit, but was still spiky.

Now he was standing in front of the cage, containing the fox, in his mindscape, awaiting further instructions on his training.

**"I see you finished your training, kit. Good job. Though I will admit, I was surprised when you mastered both tree and water walking in two days. You are talented... if only the teachers at the academy would see that. Now, about your training. In the next two days I want you to learn Kage Bunshin. Before I will explain how it works, do you have any questions?"**  Kyuubi asked.

Naruto now knew that interrupting the fox was a bad thing to do, because it pissed Kyuubi off. He now only asked questions and spoke when spoken to. The Lord of the demons acted like a king after all.

"Yeah. I remember you said it will help my training. How?" Naruto asked.

**"Ahh, well, the beauty of this technique is that you get all the memories of the clones when they dispel. Meaning..."**  Kyuubi said, allowing Naruto to finish the sentence.

When Naruto saw the Kyuubi's look, he understood what he wanted "... you will get the memory of all the training. So if I create 2 clones, they will cut my training time twice, meaning I can learn jutsu faster. Awesome! But why has no one used this kind of training if it's so effective?" Naruto asked, excited fire burning in his eyes.

**"That's right kit. Kage Bunshin is not kinjutsu for nothing. It requires a lot of chakra to create at least one clone. Only Kage level shinobi can create** _ **some**_ **shadow clones and remain in good fighting condition. Also, I believe no one else can use this kind of training because of the mental feedback and exhaustion they will get. But you, kit, can create hundreds of them because of your large chakra capacity, and the mental exhaustion will not affect you that much thanks to your natural healing abilities which is also enhanced by my chakra. It means you're one of only a very few peope who are capable of this kind of training."**  Kyuubi answered. He could swear he saw some sparkling stars in the blonde's eyes. Kyuubi found that amusing...

Kyuubi then continued to explain how Kage Bunshin worked and all its possibilities. After that, Kyuubi showed him required the handseals. Naruto found it very funny and strange on how Kyuubi performed the handseals. Foxes shouldn't be able to do them, right? Also, Kyuubi explained that the more Naruto poured chakra into the jutsu, the more clones he will produce. In addition, Kyuubi explained that Naruto will have truly mastered the technique when he could summon clones without the handseals. Naruto already knew this was definitely going to be his favorite technique.

After the lecture was finished, Naruto bid his teacher farewell and went back to his training.

**-Time skip, 2 days-**

Naruto stood in the middle of training field 43. It was next to training field 44, also known as the 'Forest of Death'. From time to time you could hear some roaring and hissing from the forest, which was why almost no one used this training field, saying it unnerved them.

Naruto crossed his his fingers, performing the necessary seals for Kage Bunshin no juts. He then collected as much chakra as he could, channeled it through the seal and shouted  **"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"**.

There was a large puff of smoke. When the smoke died down, you could see an entire army of Narutos. The original Naruto looked around in awe. He had created approximately 300 clones and felt a bit winded. He used a minute to catch his breath and then ordered ALL of his clones to do chakra control exercises. When he received 'Hai, boss.' from all of them, he decided to relax. Also, he just wanted to check if what Kyuubi had said was indeed true.

At the end of the day, he dispelled all of his clones at once. He shouldn't have done that though, because once they poofed out of existence, Naruto fell to ground and held his head, moaning. It was painful when he received all the memories and feedback from the clones at once .

"Next time I'll order them to dispel in groups of 10 or 20 in 2 minute intervals." he murmured under his breath.

**Later that night, in his mindscape.**

"So, I've learned the simple Kage Bunshin and Tajuu Kage Bunshin. What now?" Naruto asked, excited about his training.

**"Take it easy, kit. And good job learning those jutsus. What's the maximum number of clones you can create?"**  Kyuubi asked.

"Well, today I could make about 300 clones before I felt a bit exhausted. After about 1 minute of catching my breath, I felt a lot better." Naruto answered.

Kyuubi widened his eyes, apparently shocked.  _ **"300 clones? It's impossible for an 8 year old to make that amount, even with his chakra reserves. I guess his new silver chakra is more potent, thus making the jutsus stronger; and his Rinnegan gives him the passive ability to channel his chakra more easily and smoothly, allowing him to make powerful jutsus while conserving chakra. He can get strong in no time."**_ thought Kyuubi as he grinned, excited.

"Hey, Kyuubi-sensei, you alright? You seemed like you spaced out for a minute." Naruto asked.

**"Oh, uhh, sorry. I just didn't expect you to make so many clones at such a young age... Now let me think about your training schedule."**  Kyuubi answered.

And that's how the next few minutes passed - Naruto sitting in the water, waiting for Kyuubi's answer; and Kyuubi thinking about the schedule.

**"Ok, now listen carefully."**  Kyuubi finally said.  **"For week one, everyday you will create 200 clones. You will divide them in 5 groups. Group 1 will learn my special 'Kitsune Claw' taijutsu. Group 2 will learn my special 'Kitsune Blade' kenjutsu. Group 3 will learn and practice Fuuton, Suiton and Raiton ninjutsu, as well as your dojutsu. Group 4 will continue on your chakra control, increasing your overall control and amount of chakra you will have. Also, group 4 will do an elemental chakra training. Group 5 will study. And by study I mean go to library and read books on history, tactics etc. And finally the real you will do physical training. Any questions so far?"**

Naruto was a bit awed by all the things he is going to do and he couldn't wait for when his training will start.

"Yes, actually. Why do you have special taijutsu and kenjutsu styles You're a huge fox, one swing of your tail can cause tornadoes." he asked.

Kyuubi shrugged his shoulders (well, as much as the fox could).  **"Remember when we first met and I told you how 'something happened and my mind was healed'?"**  he then saw how Naruto was deep in thought, but after some seconds Kyuubi received a nod from the blond, so he continued  **"Well, this 'something' happened thousand of years ago. When villages weren't formed yet, I found a deeply wounded fox in the forest near Hi no Kuni. Rikudou made me like a fox, so I had a fox's instincts and seeing another fox in pain was painful for me. So I decided to help. I took the fox and infused it with a large amount of my chakra. Back then, my chakra wasn't demonic, it was pure and brought life, but it was still dangerous to pour my chakra into other beings. I still don't know how that fox survived, but imagine my surprise when I woke up and saw the same fox, but with two tails and a bit larger. It was the first half demon, half animal. Thousands of years passed, the fox mated and brought kits to life. Slowly, these kits were becoming more and more demonic, gaining more and more intellgence until they become full time demons like me. But the difference was they could never reach my power as well as they would never go insane or mad like I can. In other words, thousands years of later, a Fox clan appeared and I was their head. After that I decided to to create my own summoning contract and brought all the foxes to the summoning realm. Why I did I do so? Because of my mission. When they heard what my mission was, the foxes agreed (obviously) to help me and over time developed these two styles to aid their summoners. After another thousands of years they created and developed their own sage mode and sage style."**  when Kyuubi finished, he let out a sigh  **"Uff, I really hate these 'tell me your past' questions... They are usually so long."**

Naruto looked at fox with the excitement and awe. To think that Kyuubi, the great Demon Lord had it's own fox clan. How awesome was that? But then Naruto remembered something "Well, that's just awesome. But what is this mission you speak so much about?"

Kyuubi grinned  **"Well, it's simple. When Rikudou created us, he gave us a mission - IF we are sealed in a person who had the same eyes as his, we are required to help and aid them. That's why before you leave, I will give you a summoning contract to sign. Any questions?"**

"Hmm, that makes sense. I can't figure out how Rikudou-sama knew about any new disaster coming to the world, but it makes sense how he would want you to help me. After all, you've got thousands and thousands of years of experience and knowledge as well as at basic information and understanding of his dojutsu. Anyway, I don't have any questions, just a request." Naruto said, with a serious expression, although you still could see some sparks from the stars in his eyes.

**"Hm?"**

"Can I train my dojutsu on my own, without using clones?" Before Kyuubi could ask him to elaborate, Naruto continued "It's just unfair and seems like cheating if I learn everything using clones. That's why I want to train my bloodline without using clones. Also, it didn't sound like I will have anything else to do, aside from physical training."

**"Well, fair enough. It will also be easier to instruct you. Right, let's continue on with the training schedule. For week two, Group 1 will continue to learn taijutsu as well as spar with each other, the same goes for Group 2 with kenjutsu. Group 3 will learn and practice Katon and Doton ninjutsu. Group 4 will work on your kunai and shuriken throwing and dodging skills. Group 5 will continue to study in the library. And you will do physical workouts as well as dojutsu training. Week 1 will be first, after that will be week 2 and after that one, you will do week 1 schedule again and so on. Questions?"**

"Yes. When do we start and what about weekends?"

Kyuubi grinned. He had started to like Naruto's excitement for training.  **"We start on Thursday. And on weekends you can just do physical workouts in the morning and relax for the rest of the day."**

When he finished speaking, Kyuubi placed its paws in Ram seal (it looked weird) and a scroll poofed into existence out of nowhere. It was strange how Kyuubi could summon things in his mindscape... Kyuubi tossed the scroll to Naruto and spoke  **"Bite your thumb and write your full name on the scroll and leave your fingerprint under it."**

Naruto opened the scroll and found it to be completely blank. It didn't surprise him though, as he was the first summoner ever. He did as he was told and wrote his full name in kanji and left the fingerprint. After he completed the procedure, the scroll closed and poofed back to its home world.

**"Good job, Naruto. I will show you the required handseals later. Now it's time for you to wake up. Soon we will start your training. Oh, and I want you to continue to act as a dobe. Remember, 'deception is a ninja's greatest weapon'. If people underestimate you, it means easier victory."**  Kyuubi said as he grinned.

Naruto didn't want to show off anyway and acting as a dobe was fun too. And he just knew this training would cause him a lot of pain...

* * *

**-with Alicia, a week earlier (After the night she got her bloodline)-**

It was late afternoon now, the sun was high in the sky, shining brightly and its rays were warming up the small village.

Alicia woke up and moaned, her entire back was hurting. She shuffled slowly to her bathroom, did all her ablutions and then took a shower. She wasn't even surprised at her new hair, because she knew that some things change in the body when the bloodline is awakened. After that, she went back to the main hall and remembered everything that happened - how her grandfather died and how she awakened her Valkyrie bloodline. She then remembered the key and secret chamber.

She went to the far right corner of the room, bit her thumb and smeared some of the blood on the wall. It looked completely random, but Alicia knew better. After that, a red and white seal array appeared on the wall, indicating she was allowed to enter. Then, the seal disappeared and the wall lifted up, revealing a hidden passage going downstairs.

When Alicia got to the basement, the corridor there was very narrow with various line patterns in different thickness and color running along the wall until they reached a door at the end of the corridor. The young girl went closer to the door and noticed how beautiful it was. It was a silver door with a beautiful woman drawn on it. The woman wore some kind of long battle dress, held a wide sword and she had a pair of angel-like wings behind her.

Alicia really liked how the woman looked.  _"So that's what our bloodline looks like. I only heard the stories and never saw the pictures."_  she thought.

Alicia then took out the key and inserted it in the keyhole and turned it several times until she heard a 'click' sound. The door started to glow until it vanished.

She went inside the room and couldn't help but stare in awe at everything there was. There was a bookshelf with various scrolls and books in it, there also was a chest with money and various weapons like swords, bows, kunai, shuriken and some ancient weapons. At the end of the room was a manikin. The manikin was dressed in beautiful garb. It consisted of a long, white dress, with a slit starting from its hip on the right and going down until it reached mid shin, fully uncovering the right leg, but hiding the left one. The dress was made up of pure white feathers. *1* Over the dress was a small, dark brown leather vest held in place by tiny ropes. The whole costume also came with very long dark brown leather boots which were also made in the vest's style.*2*. Said costume was completed by leather arm guards with small metal plates in it, which nearly reached the manikin's elbows.

"Wow. It looks beautiful. I bet that's the costume previous valkyries wore. It will be too big for me right now, though. I will have to wait 'till I grow up a bit." Alicia said to herself. Little did she know that there were seals placed on the costume that allows it to shrink in size in order for it to fit the wearer as well as a seal which always keeps it clean.

Behind the manikin was a large metal plate with engraved text -

_It will be harsh in the world,_   
_Whoredom runs rife_   
_An axe age, a sword age_   
_Shields are riven_   
_Before the world goes headlong._   
_No man will have mercy on another._   
_And then,_   
_The last Valkyrie will be born._   
_Her pure soul will help the man_   
_With sacred power and eyes to heal the land._

"The prophecy... Now I just need to find this man." she murmured as she read the prophecy.

She then carefully took the clothes off the manikin and sealed it in a scroll. It's a good thing that she learned from her ojiisan how to use sealing scrolls. She continued to pick various jutsu scrolls that will help her in her training as well as some money. When she had finished taking everything she needed, she left the room. The door reappeared with a transparent-white flash, and you could hear a 'click' sound, indicating the door was now was closed.

Alicia left her clan house and walked towards the village's market in order to buy some supplies for her journey. As she walked on the street, she noticed how everyone was giving her looks of awe and respect. Everyone already knew she was the last Valkyrie.

After an hour, she was standing near the village gates. She turned around and saw that almost all the villagers had come to bid their farewell and wish her good luck on her journey.

"Good luck on your journey, valkyrie-sama!" some random woman said.

"Don't forget about us!" another one said.

"We will always remember and cheer for you!" a young man sad.

"Thanks, guys!" Alicia said, tears forming in her eyes. She was leaving her home village after all... But she didn't want to look weak in front of so many people, so she just wiped her tears and with a bright smile said "I won't let you down! Your support means a lot to me."

As the people in village cheered her on, she slowly began to walk away from her village.

Her first destination was some village near Kumo. She tried to avoid large shinobi villages, fearing someone will find out about her bloodline and force her to become their ninja. She couldn't stay in her home as well, because she had a mission - to train, gain knowledge of the world and to find that one man she needed to help. With determination in her eyes and a clear target in mind, she set out on her journey.

 


End file.
